Hi, I’m Ruth
For as long as I can remember, I've been drawn to the people who feel stuck: the ones who are doing everything right and still can't shake what's weighing on them. Helping people get free of that has never felt like a career choice to me. It is my calling.
My path to this work began somewhere unexpected: a prison classroom. I was a teacher, and my students were incarcerated men and women. I quickly found myself less interested in what my students had done and more drawn to what had happened to them, and what they would need to build something different. I became the one connecting them with resources, with options, with any possible way forward. That instinct never left me. It became my profession.
Life has taught me resilience firsthand, too. I've walked through seasons that tested everything I had, and they taught me something I carry into every session: life moves in stages, and almost nothing, not even the hardest chapter, is permanent. I'm also a single mom of two who built her own practice from the ground up, so I know what it means to keep going when quitting isn't an option. And I know how easy it is to get stuck inside our own bubble when the truth is the world is enormous, with more to see, do, and become than one lifetime can hold.
This work is my life's mission. My purpose is to help as many people heal as I possibly can.
How I work
I'm a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Qualified Supervisor (LCSW-QS) with about ten years of clinical experience, specializing in trauma, EMDR, anxiety, and relationship and attachment issues. My approach blends evidence-based methods with genuine human connection:
EMDR to help your brain reprocess what it couldn't process at the time
Attachment-based therapy to understand how your earliest relationships shaped the patterns you live in now
CBT to identify and shift the beliefs that keep you stuck
Clients tend to describe me as warm but real. I will never just nod along for fifty minutes. You'll get honest reflection, a clear plan, and a therapist who believes therapy should actually change things.
Who I Work Best With
My clients are usually capable, self-aware adults: professionals, parents, caregivers, the ones everyone else leans on. Many have done therapy before and gained real insight. What brings them to me is the gap between understanding their patterns and being free of them.
And people from every background are welcome here. My work has brought me alongside people whose lives look nothing alike, and it taught me early that pain and healing don't belong to any one culture, identity, or walk of life. I honor the values and identities you bring into the room. Sessions are conducted in English, and I fully understand Spanish, so bilingual clients should feel free to express themselves in whichever language a feeling arrives in.
If that's you, and you're ready to close that gap, we'll likely work well together.
Why I Built a Private-Pay Practice
I structured New Dawn as a primarily private-pay practice for one reason: it lets me put your care first. No insurance company deciding how many sessions you need. No required diagnosis on file. A small, intentional caseload so I show up fully for every client.
And through out-of-network reimbursement, which I've made nearly effortless with Mentaya, most PPO plan holders get 50-80% of each session back.
Credentials & Training
Licensed Clinical Social Worker — Qualified Supervisor (LCSW-QS)
Licensed in New York, Connecticut, and Florida
Advanced training in EMDR and trauma treatment
Approximately ten years of clinical experience
Clinical Hypnotherapist training (Institute of Interpersonal Hypnotherapy) — completing late fall 2026, supporting the launch of clinical hypnosis for pain management
Beyond the Office
Outside of sessions, I'm a proud mom of two kids and two miniature schnauzers, which keeps life full, loud, and grounded. I'm endlessly curious and always learning something new, and I'll happily get lost in anything sci-fi: books, films, series, you name it. I'm also a firm believer that the world offers more places to see, people to meet, and things to try than a single lifetime can hold, and I do my best to live like it.