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Vanessa Lopes, LPC, CTRS (She/Her)

Staff Therapist

Vanessa is a queer, polyamorous, first-generation, Portuguese-American counselor who welcomes and celebrates adults and teens with intersectional identities. She is passionate about providing sex-positive and affirming care to LGBTQ+ folx, Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC), sex workers, BDSM/kink folx, and those in or seeking consensual non-monogamous (CNM) relationships.

With experience in visual art, Recreational Therapy, and Latin Dance, Vanessa motivates her clients to find healing through creative outlets both in and out of the counseling room. She utilizes non-violent communication and a trauma-informed approach to counseling, additionally pulling from attachment-based and existential views.

Vanessa believes you inherently deserve all that you desire, and so much more. She is strongly influenced by the power of the mind-body connection and her priority is to provide accessible tools and techniques that inspire individuals to begin a dialogue with their body, learn what brings them pleasure, and embrace the parts of themselves that are begging to be both known and loved.

Vanessa practices therapy in New Jersey and offers coaching anywhere.

Provider Identities

Bisexual and/or Pansexual
Cisgender Woman
First generation
Kinky and/or BDSM
Low-income background
Musician/Artist
Non-Monogamous and/or Polyamorous
Queer
Survivor

Client concerns or identities

ADHD
Anxiety
Musician/Artist
Bisexual and/or Pansexual
Children of mentally ill parents
Complex/generational trauma
Couples/relationships
Depression
Families/chosen families
First generation/Immigrant
Identity exploration
Interracial relationships
Kinky
Neurodivergent
Non-binary
Non-monogamy
Polycule
Queer
Sex therapy
Sex workers
Spirituality
STI/HIV positive
Survivors of IPV & sexual assault
Transgender
Trauma

Provider Approach

Anti-oppressive
Attachment
DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy)
EFT (Emotion-focused Therapy)
Expressive Arts Interventions
Feminist
Harm Reduction
Narrative
Psychodynamic
Somatic
Trauma-informed
Individual Therapy & Coaching
Relationship Therapy & Coaching