Renee Echols, LMSW

The therapy space is often a space of vulnerability as we build toward healing and liberation. As a therapist, I am committed to honoring your vulnerabilities, while we collaborate to cultivate care and authenticity. I will work together with you to discover the values and meaning that can lead you toward a more fulfilling life. Whether you are seeking a guide to help you navigate through stormy waters of depression, loss, or chronic stress, or you are feeling stuck during a time of transition, as your therapist I believe it is my role to help you find your voice, define your goals and values, and identify your strengths and resilience as we discover ways to cope with pain and uncertainty.

As a disabled woman, I am attuned to the challenges that oppressed, marginalized identities face, and I am especially suited to supporting individuals with chronic health concerns, disabilities, neuro-divergence, and LGBTQIA issues from a disability justice perspective. I aim to work with clients to heal from past traumas and uncover their inner strengths and core values in order to live a more authentic and integrated life.

As a mom who is a survivor of intimate partner abuse, I can collaborate with individuals as they struggle with transitions of separation, intimate partner abuse survivorship, divorce, co-parenting, custody concerns, post-separation abuse, and blended families. My practice embraces clients who have experienced trauma through the legal system, including family court and child welfare system concerns. As a clinician who is also a mom, I welcome clients struggling with perinatal stressors, including depression and anxiety surrounding pregnancy, pregnancy loss, childbirth, parenting children with disabilities, and parenting during infancy and beyond. My experience includes work at local non-profits providing support and advocacy with clients living with a variety of disabilities and health conditions.

Prior to earning my master’s in social work from the University of Michigan, I studied and taught in the humanities at the college level and earned an MA in English literature and participated in a PhD program. I support college and graduate students, particularly those with marginalized identities, to reach their goals, develop coping strategies, and self-advocacy skills. I also help students, academics and professionals move forward when it feels like nothing is going right, when identifying a path forward becomes overwhelming and daunting.

My background in English literature informs my approach to clinical work. I draw upon literature and philosophy, particularly postmodern and post-structural theories, existentialism, and feminist theory in my practice. My approach emphasizes empowerment and self-determination, with a humanistic and eclectic style that draws from narrative therapy, psycho-dynamic frameworks, existential, solution-focused, trauma informed, emotion-focused (EFT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). I see myself as a facilitator, enabling you to discover your purpose and to determine, with guidance, how to best implement changes in your life. I will learn as much from you as I hope you will learn from me, and I look forward to embarking on a journey with you to enhance your quality of life.