Callista Cox

Associate Marriage and Family Therapist|Clinically Supervised

I believe relational therapy is the key to change. I believe it because I have lived it - as a queer, nonbinary, dynamically disabled therapist with C-PTSD, BPD, PTSD, OCD, and ADHD. I have been in harmful and helpful therapeutic relationships in hospitals and treatment centers. My work is guided by my lived experience and the research of attachment and family systems theorists. Relational therapy means that no matter how much we know about what’s wrong or what happened, what is most important is how you feel about the connection between you and I. Change often happens when we can make sense of things together, through a supportive, understanding relationship. Together we can understand what led to panic and overwhelm and use therapeutic methods to work our way out of there. Safe relationships are a place to ask for a second chance, for accountability, to set limits, and to connect. We might experience temporary disconnection or misunderstandings within the therapeutic relationship, just as we do in every other relationship. Know that this is common, and provides a place to heal. I will not abandon you, yell at you, or criticize you. We will work together to repair, a practice that we are not often taught how to do. Relational therapy also leads to you taking what we do together into your other relationships: setting limits, building connections, and inviting change. You may see a change in the way you interact with your chosen family as our time together makes an impact in how you see yourself.

I sought out therapy as an adult due to my own experiences of trauma, mental illness, family stress, and its impact on my body. I found myself gravitating towards psychology, creative arts, philosophy, and systemic theory in college. My own experiences in therapy have impacted my work, as well as reading the work of Disability Justice activists.

I am a second author in a research paper on the relationship between food insecurity and emotional and cognitive performance of middle schoolers. This was two years of my life while in undergrad and writing that paper really solidified my desire to go into working with folks who have experienced neglect and childhood trauma -- not just from their own families, but from the systems that failed them. The impacts of food insecurity (which can mean anything from not having accessible, easy to make food in the home to not having any food available) are wide and have long term consequences. I am interested in continuing to explore research in the future and open to talking about current research with clients!