Serena Yeager, MA, LMHC

Hi, I’m Serena (she/her/hers). I’m a psychotherapist, educator, and designer in private practice in Downtown Orlando, Florida. I work with individuals, couples and people in multiple-partner relationships who seek to resolve their reactive patterns, insecure attachment styles, and past traumas.

I understand therapy as a collaborative process honoring clients’ lived experiences while opening space for growth and change. I consider clients to be experts in themselves, with my role being to provide support, skills, and accountability. I will encourage you to advocate for yourself and help you navigate the healthcare system to get your needs met in creative and resilient ways. I will take into account the tools and resources you already have available to you and help you build on them. You get to decide what does and does not work for you.

Areas of Expertise

I specialize in CBT and Trauma-Focused CBT for individuals with anxiety, depression, mood disorders, and PTSD. I also utilize techniques from Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), somatic therapy, play therapy, and secular counseling. I have additional training in mindfulness, sexual assault victims’ advocacy, and crisis intervention.

Education

• MA Counselor Education, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, University of Central Florida

• BA Psychology, University of South Florida

LGBTQIA+ Affirming Therapy and ENM, Polyamory, and Kink-Friendly Therapy

Affirmative therapy is an approach to therapy that embraces a positive view of a given identity while addressing the negative influences that oppressive social biases may have against them. When I work with LGBTQIA+ individuals, I am supportive of their identities and take a strength-based approach, focusing on helping them meet their goals for mental wellness with an understanding of the impact homophobia, transphobia, and heterosexism may have on their lives. Similarly, I understand nonmonogamy and kink as valid practices that many consider important aspects of their personal identities and relationship orientations.

Many of my clients have had experiences that left them feeling misunderstood by others in their lives, including previous therapists. When starting a therapeutic relationship with me, you won’t have to worry that your sexuality, gender orientation, relationship orientation, or lifestyle will be singled out as an area of pathology due to a lack of understanding. I trust you to be the expert in your identities and choices.