SALT STREAMS CARE & MAINTENANCE SERVICES
PHILOSOPHY
Maintenance-Based Care for Queer and Neurodivergent Beings
PERSPECTIVE
I use a polyvagal informed, existential and relational approach to help you understand how your emotions and nervous system interact. We map out your internal system, what is working and isn't working, and what feels missing without judging or banishing parts of yourself that need to be heard and served a function in the past. By assessing our values and what change you want to see, we can develop a plan to experiment with new ways of being and dreaming up the life you want to live.
PRACTICE
I am a queer, neurodivergent affirming therapist specializing in individuals ranging from youth to adulthood who may be dealing with life transitions, ADHD, depression, complex family dynamics and grief. I see clients virtually or in-person nature based therapy at local spots in the Milwaukee area. I invite you to reach out to discuss what you are looking for in a therapist and what small next steps will bring you closer to your goals.
Life can be incredibly hard, painful, and overwhelming to say the least. My approach to life is to honor the pain that comes with it and how we've learned to survive in a world that can be destructive and shattering. How can we find meaning in suffering to maintain existence the best we can? By looking at the human condition, our sense of self, life-affirming practices and relationships, we can uncover a path to a fulfilling life that makes sense for you.
“Human beings are magical. Bios and Logos. Words made flesh, muscle and bone animated by hope and desire, belief materialized in deeds, deeds which crystallize our actualities.”
- Sylvia Wynter
Walking around a cemetery I noticed little circular stone markers in front of the grave stone with the words "perpetual care". I fell in love with those two words together wandering around on a spring day surrounded by death pondering the meaning of those words and life in general. I looked up what the markers in the cemetery signified; a fund for cemetery maintenance in perpetuity. That's all we really want is to be taken care of until we die and thereafter, to not be forgotten or disappear. We want to remain valued.
The words perpetual care reminded me about my role as a therapist and what therapy is at it's core, it is to maintain existence and human connection. Everything requires maintenance and as an act it is continuously neglected and undervalued. I see mental health as something to be maintained perpetually in order to continue living. And that's what I offer, being witness to and in support of maintaining your life.
FORM AND FUNCTION
Why and how I work
I feel like my purpose on this earth is to be with and hold people's stories, not turning away from the heartbreak, suffering, darkness, and endings we must endure as humans. In my practice I like to use humor, books, art, symbolic imagery and creative practices that reflect what it means to be human while shedding levity on the mystical nature and heaviness of life.
That being said, I don't downplay how hard life is and what you had to go through to get here, to survive in states of hopelessness and floating potentialities that never came to be. In the act of being-with and looking directly at what haunts us — sometimes a void of emptiness, painful realities, the mystery of the unknown, or a longing for belonging — we can find meaning in what feels meaningless and maintain an existence that glimmers with connection, fascination and purpose.
Closing the gap between your current and ideal reality
If you've noticed something isn't working, feel lost, or have an idea of where you want to be but struggle to identify the steps to get there, let’s converse! As we take a step back to look at the full picture of your life, we can start to notice what might be getting in the way -- core beliefs, fear of rejection, perfectionism, nervous system responses or past relationships that have impacted how you see yourself, others and the world.
Together we can move toward a reality that holds the tension between change and acceptance, distress and boredom, purpose and listlessness. I can help you make sense of your inner and outer world by accessing your creative self and adjusting how you experience suffering while honoring and who you are and who you want to become.
SPECIALITIES/MODALITIES
I primarily work with queer, neurodivergent individuals ranging from youth to adulthood who may be dealing with life transitions, ADHD, depression, complex family dynamics and grief.
*A note about specialties
I don't specialize in anxiety/panic disorders, PTSD/CPTSD, OCD, Eating disorders, Bipolar disorder, AODA, severe mental illness and psychosis. However I am educated and have treated people with these intersecting conditions using a harm reduction approach addressing the present concerns and introducing what treatment might look like with a specialist. I operate this way because a disorder is defined by how it impairs your life and I believe that is for you to decide. If I come to the realization that more intensive treatment is necessary based on your level of distress and safety I will work with you during this transition to a more beneficial provider.
MODALITIES
Logotherapy - Finding meaning through creation, experiences and attitudes to move through inevitable suffering
Internal Family Systems - Addressing the various parts that make up the self, taking on different roles and burdens with the aim to protect ourselves
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy - Learning to be psychologically flexible and struggle less through mindful and values based living
Expressive Arts Therapy- Reflecting through making in various form of expression such as writing, drawing, painting, comics, collaging, molding, movement
Ecotherapy - Immersing self in nature based activities such as mindful walking, being with and taking care of plants and animals, crafts, sensory observation and attention
Polyvagal Theory - Noticing and shifting nervous system states to serve the human need for safety and connection
Focusing- Accessing a felt sense in the body by listening to unclear emotions or thoughts allowing for a bodily shift and change in mindset
Personal Background
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Education - MS in Community Psychology from Alverno College
Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC, Wisconsin
License Number: 11583-125
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Polyvagal certificate course, Polyvagal Institute (2024)
Introduction to Ecotherapy course, Earthbody Institute (2023)
Peoples Medicine School, Rootwork Herbals (2022)
Psychedelic Liberation Training, The Ancestor Project (2021)
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Trauma-Informed Grief Support, Shauna Janz (2023)
Loving Justice: Trauma Informed Conflict Skills, Kai Cheng Thom (2022)
When conversation turns to suicide, Wildflower Alliance (2021)
Undoing Racism™/Community Organizing Workshop, The People's Institute (2017)
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Bulimia Harm reduction 101, Nalgona Positivity Pride (2025)
Personality Disorders Treatment, Gregory Lestor (2025)
EMDR & Parts Work for Treating Complex Trauma, Arielle Schwartz (2024)
Decolonizing Trauma Work: From the Individual to the Systemic, Cassandra Walker (2023)
Blending ACT & ERP: Values-based Exposures for Everyday Therapy, Grace Dickman (2023)
LGBTQIA+ and Neurodivergent Affirming approaches to Food and Body, RDs for Neurodiversity (2023)
And many many more!
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As a child I would follow and name the pigeons around the basketball court at recess. Imagining the pattern of my footsteps, a darting nonsensical stagger, a meandering full of false starts, pauses, unfinished loops, and reversals. From a distance, this moving image may look chaotic, lonely, and confusing, but these movements were the only way I knew how to be. Through trial and error and relentlessly flailing, I was observing what really is, drawn to what people overlook, witnessing the pain of existence. Later in life, I learned the jerkiness of the head bobbing functions as a pause, to obtain visual clarity so their body can catch up. This is how I see myself and my client's -- the need to pause to gain clarity because our mind is moving at a rate faster than our body's know what to do with, creating a blurred reality we are constantly trying to orient to and move through without losing our way or falling behind.
I have tried a lot of things. I've worked in retail, service, childcare, nonprofits residential care, schools and clinics. I've quit many jobs, been fired for being late, given second chances, and asked to come back. I've had the privilege to take risks, try things that don't work out, and struggle endlessly. I believe my gift to the world is to share my self-inflicted struggle and what I've learned along the way. The misery of trying to “figure life out”through sometimes horrible mistakes has helped me know myself better, what I wish I knew earlier and what isn't for me. I am a compassionate contrarian (cancer/leo cusp), feel and love deeply, know my convictions (which always contain a spattering of self-doubt) with a big, yet quiet personality. I am constantly investigating, learning, collecting and planning, always with a list in hand. I love knowing humans, learning their history in all its forms (oral, objects, writing, artifacts, ephemera) and listening for what hasn't been said.
Hello, it’s me, Corrie
More Issues/ Identities
Neurodivergence/Adhd
LGBTQIA2S+
Grief
Depression
Thoughts of death and dying
Trauma related to religion, psychiatric care, and money
Children and teens
Parenting / Child development
Creatives / Wayward lives
Social anxiety
Oppression and privilege
Family conflict
Personality issues
Relationship issues
LOGISTICS
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I charge $90 per 55 minute session or $75 per 45 minute session with the option of sliding scale available.
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I am currently in the process of being approved by insurance panels. This can be a lengthy process and I will update this page as I have more information.
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I use the green bottle sliding scale guide developed by Alexis J. Cunningfolk referenced here on their website. The green bottle method helps people understand their financial privilege and make an informed decision on what to pay for services.
My sliding scale rates are the following:
Full bottle: $90/55 minute session or $75/45 minute session
Half full bottle: $60/55 minute session or $50/45 minute session
Almost empty bottle: $30/55 minute session or $25/45 minute session
Are you interested in working together? Tell me what brought you here, what haunts you, and where you want to go in the form over there — And I’ll send you an electronic message to schedule a free 15 minute consultation.
“Who are you?’ said the Caterpillar.
This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, `I—I hardly know, sir, just at present— at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.”