Savannah Helton MSW, LCSW
philosophy & approach
You might have a particular concern bringing you to therapy, but maybe you need help figuring out where to start. I am here to listen & follow your lead, working at your pace with whatever comes.
Often therapy begins by considering ways to improve your most distressing symptoms so you can begin to feel better in your day-to day life. With practice & support along the way, you’ll be building skills & perspective to help you navigate your future challenges with an increased inner-sense of calm, control & confidence.
As our relationship develops over time, I can provide needed feedback to disrupt long-standing behavior patterns or themes that concern & impact you. We can explore bigger life questions & clarify your value systems to actively create more meaning, purpose or joy in your life.
All of my work is grounded in an intersectional, feminist psychotherapy framework. This is a person-centered model that reminds us that societal, cultural & political structures are central factors in the understanding of human difficulties & impact each person differently.
about me
Some of my identities include white, queer, cis-woman, eldest daughter & proud aunt. I am from St. Louis, but spent all of my 20’s in NYC where I became an adult & started my professional career. I spend my time outside of sessions reading non-fiction/social science or sapphic romance books, traveling with my partner & finding trinkets I definitely don’t need at thrift shops.
professional background
For over 15 years I have worked with women of varying ages & backgrounds, all navigating common challenges across the lifespan: relationships, sexual orientation & identity, violence & sexual assault, pregnancy, early parenting, caregiver strain, chronic illness, traumatic grief & loss. I hold a Masters Degree in Social Work from Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College in New York City.
From hotline volunteer at the New York City Anti-Violence Project to Social Worker for Planned Parenthood of NYC to Therapist at Washington University’s Perinatal Behavioral Health Service to serving on the Board of Directors of the Missouri Abortion Fund, I have always been motivated by the words of activist Angela Davis: “You have to act as if it is possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time.”
I am deeply passionate about systemic-level change to improve the social structures & material conditions under which we all live, but I am just one person. Throughout my career, no matter the scope or scale of the endeavor, I continue to find that it is first through individual connection that we co-create meaningful change. We can’t do it all alone. I look forward to our work together.
-Savannah