Morgan Avis Licensed Social Worker

Morgan Avis, Licensed Social Worker, 44SL07123600 is practicing under the supervision of Stephanie Valenziano (New Jersey, LCSW, 44SC05500300) at Auxilium Services.

Please, note: A clinician listed as being “clinically supervised” is completing clinical hours toward their licensure. They have one or more fully licensed clinical supervisors that often have special training to become supervisors. They consult with their supervisor(s) on all of their cases, which means that, when working with them, you are getting the time and expertise of multiple therapists in your treatment.

As a cis white woman who holds various privileges with my intersecting identities, I always acknowledge the white cis-hetero capitalist patriarchy we all operate under, and how that external pressure can impact both people’s perception of us, and our own perceptions of ourselves. Through an intersectional understanding I developed in working with Girls for Gender Equity, a Black Queer female led non-profit, I am able to acknowledge how differing parts of ourselves create our entire experience when combined. In an effort to dismantle white supremacist ideology in therapeutic practice, I aim to let clients know the origins of therapeutic practices and how they are rooted in indigenous ways of healing. Additionally, I speak openly with my clients about their internalization of external stereotypes/opinions. I also work with clients to focus on family and upbringing, and bring awareness to intergenerational trauma that may be deeply held. I work with clients that hold marginalized identities and help them feel safe and open to explore community amongst people with similar stories to theirs. The teachers I have learned from include bell hooks, Angela Davis, and Bryan Stevenson, to name a few. These activists have worked tirelessly towards equity for Black and Brown folks in a myriad of ways, and their words are what emboldened me to follow a career path in mental health work, as a way to commit myself continually to the cause. Audre Lorde said it best when she proclaimed “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare”. I hope to provide a radical space where individuals can care for themselves, and in that way, ‘dismantle the Master’s house’.

Success would look like the client recognizing progress they have made throughout sessions. While the aim of therapy is progress not perfection, success would be seen as a client being able to utilize coping strategies outside of session, decrease unwanted thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and have an overall positive outlook on themselves, and their life. I make it a point in my sessions to remind clients of the place they began therapy at, and where they are now. I help clients to see the incremental changes they have made in their lives that may not be readily apparent to them, and I provide positive reinforcement when positive change the client wants to see is achieved.

When I was beginning my career, I started off as a resource navigator where I provided government resources to individuals impacted by Covid-19. There, I honed my rapport building skills, and solution-based therapeutic intervention tactics. When I was a Social Worker at Brooklyn Justice Initiative, I conducted counseling sessions for individuals who had been arrested for misdemeanors or violations as an alternative to incarceration. Through that experience, I utilized systems theory-which is helping clients to notice how individuals and communities interact with and adapt to their environment, and how those interactions shape behavior and outcomes. When I worked for Girls for Gender Equity, I helped create lesson plans and co-facilitate after-school programs for Black and Browns femmes and gender-expansive youth ages 16-24. This experience helped me to build my cultural competency and gain better understandings of lived experiences different than my own. At my last position, I created individualized service plans to cater to youth who were in crisis in a holistic and strength-based way. This experience helped teach me to keep calm in high stress situations, and learn how to support individuals through difficult times in their lives. In this position, I also helped to facilitate a monthly LGBTQIA+ youth group dedicated to promoting youth's expressions of themselves and their gender identity. At Auxilium Services I manage a care load made up of people of various ages and backgrounds and provide therapeutic interventions by utilizing modalities like play therapy, motivational interviewing, CBT, and meditation in a trauma informed, and culturally competent manner. Additionally, I ran an open LGBTQIA+ support group aimed at discussing identity which has furthered my passion in wanting to support and uplift LGBTQIA+ identifying folks.