Esa Sclafani, LCSW

Hello! I’m Esa, and I’m a queer, nonbinary and neurodivergent therapist. I have spent most of my life providing mental health support and care in my personal life to my friends, family, and community, long before I was being paid for it. In 2020, when COVID-19 ended my career as a pastry chef, I looked at a world on fire and asked myself, “How can I help?” My answer to that question was to become a therapist so that I could use the skills I already had to help the people who needed it most. 

For many of us, the world we live in is not one that was designed for who we are or what we need. Often, that means we are constantly working to meet our needs that others can’t or won’t. Sometimes, that means correcting a loved one about your pronouns five times a day. Sometimes, it can mean spending years advocating for your doctor to listen to you about your chronic pain. Sometimes it just means constant vigilance for the next time you need to fight to get your needs met. All of these tasks, these little fights, these things we need to stay on top of because nobody will, it all takes a toll on us. Many of us spend most of our lives in survival mode without realizing it.

I believe that therapy, at its core, should be the one place you never need to worry about survival. My goal as a therapist is to create a space where a client feels able to be effortlessly themselves. Therapy is where you can take up space, where you can say whatever you want, where you can express difficult emotions even if you’ve been told you’re not supposed to feel them. My work as a therapist is directly informed by my personal journey and by my lived experience as a queer, disabled, and autistic human. I’ve experienced for myself how instrumental the therapeutic space can be in learning how to navigate the world in a way that works for you. 

As your therapist, I will be your collaborator. We will work together to understand what you need, what you want to change, and what makes you feel safe. My practice is anti-racist, queer-affirming, trauma-informed, and eclectic, pulling from aspects of dialectical behavioral therapy, mindfulness, narrative therapy, and internal family systems. I work with teens (ages 12 - 18) and adults. I am especially passionate about working with clients who are navigating complex trauma, chronic illness, disability, ADHD, autism, or traditionally stigmatized mental health conditions such as bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder. 

Outside of work, I love to run around in nature whenever I get the opportunity. I am an absolute nerd about books, birds, game design, and gardening – and I still love to bake.