About Me
I'm Ginelle Krummey, MA LCMHC NCC... fellow weirdo, aspiring flower and vegetable gardener, feminist, trauma survivor, friend, relentless optimist, and counselor. These are just a few of my identities, and I would love to learn about yours.
Throughout my career, I have been serving individuals and families in vastly different treatment settings. It has resulted in my absolute conviction that all people can grow and change in the presence of care and adequate resources. I love this work! As a secondary reward to doing solid emotional work, being a part of a team was always a meaningful part of the experience. This is the backdrop to my interest in workplace wellness, resilience, and communication.
I am focused on working with adults on navigating their past and present life events with complete belief in their worthiness of feeling better, and living an empowered, meaningful life. I have treasured my experience serving survivors of sexual violence, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC and neurodivergent individuals. You don't have to be a part of those communities to be welcome at this practice.
I also support people who dedicate their energies to helping others: direct care mental health staff, non-profit workers, activists, teachers, and medical professionals who may be experiencing symptoms of burnout, compassion fatigue, secondary traumatic stress, or vicarious traumatization. Not sure if that's you? We can talk about how symptoms look for each of these syndromes.
Over the years I have equipped myself with widely applicable treatment modalities such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Person-Centered Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, and Structural Family Therapy. I integrate these models with dedication to Trauma-Informed Care and Strengths-Based Practice with Developmental and Attachment lenses. Sometimes I make use of the present moment and body-based, somatic approaches to nervous-system regulation. My counseling style blends principles from these models in a tailored way to each group or individual served. Most importantly, we will also laugh. Therapy can be powerful, deep,"ugly"--and it can be light, casual, and everything in between.
Some themes we might work with:
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Life stage transition/developmental issues
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Past/present relational traumas
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Family of origin issues
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Workplace traumas
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Identity intersections (gender, sexuality, etc.)
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Privileges and oppressions
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History of sexual and/or relational violence
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Giftedness and neurodivergence
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Spirituality exploration
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Grief and loss
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Mindfulness strategies
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Self-compassion
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Emotion regulation, stress tolerance
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... you make the choice about what is important to explore in each session.
Therapeutic fit is important! I invite you to a free telephone consultation to help make your decision.
My Approach
I have learned through experience and education that lasting change comes from within, and incrementally at that. That's why I am not going to tell you what to do. I defer to you as the expert on your life and what course of action you will take next. I can help you explore your options, thoughts, emotions, and history. I can also observe your experience as a second set of eyes, especially if there's a strong critic in your mind who makes you doubt yourself.
I have a bit of a nerdy side, which results in sharing information that I've gathered along my journey serving people. Sometimes it's useful! Sometimes you might not want to hear my factoids. If you ever want to change the way things are going in our therapeutic relationship, I invite your feedback. Our ability to collaborate on what works for you contributes to your power to advocate for your needs outside of therapy!
You may not hear me talking a lot about your diagnosis, but we can see if one fits your current experience if it interests you. I view the DSM-5 as a well-researched-yet-biased guide in outlining the wide range of mental experiences humanly possible. Under stress, and stressed over enough time, we all become diagnosable. Just as well, some of our traits are the results of conditions of our upbringing, and the experiences of our caregivers and ancestors. I find that each person fulfills some combination of criteria from many available diagnoses. Does that make a person crazy? Is crazy even a thing? Could it be okay? In an ideal society, there would be a safe and purposeful place for every member with no stigma related to difference. This is where the influence of abolitionism and transformative justice come in to my work .
I don't support the use of the word crazy. I believe that emotions are information, and any experience you've had that made you think you were crazy was actually an experience of true humanity. You may have been situated in an inhumane environment (like a rough childhood), or faced with a superhuman challenge (like the incredible work of caring for people). You are not too much, you are exactly enough, and the problem is the problem-- not you.
So I'm in the business of destigmatizing human experiences, examining the many internal and external forces acting on people, and inviting you to have compassion for yourself. If you want a therapeutic relationship where you are accepted as you are, no matter where you fall on the spectra of labels applied to our existence, that's what you'll get with me.