Hello, I am so happy you stumbled across my small corner of the internet!

My name is Dakota(they/she pronouns), and I am a Certified Recovery Support Specialist in the state of Connecticut, as well as an undergraduate social work major currently studying at a local community college. I am a member of Phi Theta Kappa, NAMI, and I'm the president of our pride club on campus. I plan on transferring to a BSW program through a private university that they hold on my current campus, and eventually getting my MSW. I aspire to work as a RSS for the start of my career in the mental health field before transitioning into clinical work. I'd like to work with people of all ages, especially kids and adolescents from marginalized backgrounds who struggle with Eating Disorders, OCD/Anxiety Disorders, and Trauma/PTSD/C-PTSD. I would love to find a way to combine my lived experience and skills I've learned as a peer/RSS with a clinical role in the future in order to combat the coercive, carceral, and dehumanizing practices that so many individuals accessing mental health services face. I'd like to utilize animal assisted therapy and animal assisted activities in the future.

I myself have been through Inpatient, IOP/PHP, and Outpatient levels of care. I also have own mental health struggles including Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Anorexia Nervosa(actively in recovery), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Social Anxiety, Depression, and Premenstrual Dysphoria. I have a history of self-injury and suicidal thoughts and an attempt. I also happen to be a trauma survivor, Autistic, Genderqueer, Pansexual, Polyamorus, and a Christian, so I am very passionate about supporting the mental health of Neurodivergent, Disabled, and LGBTQIA+ individuals, as well as individuals from other marginalized communities such as BIPOC and people from lower socioeconomic statuses.

Outside of my passion for mental health advocacy, I am also an avid writer who has won quite a few contests for my short stories and poems, and a huge fan of Pokémon, Mario, Ninja Turtles, Warrior Cats, Percy Jackson, and more. In my free time I like to draw, paint, write, hike, play video games, listen to music, play with my cats Ace and Allie, and spend time with my family, friends, and partners.

Mental illness and trauma have touched my life for as long as I can remember. I grew up in a family with significant unacknowledged and unprocessed generational trauma that ran rampant, and many family members dealt with mental illnesses such as Anxiety Disorders, Depression, Addiction, Eating Disorders and Psychosis. Many family members sadly have passed away due to suicide, including a family member that I had a very complicated but close relationship with. The generational trauma as well as other forms of trauma in my life, combined with genetic predispositions, generated my own mental health issues. I was put on medications at a young age, and did play therapy around the age of six to seven, but other than that I didn't really get much mental health support until I was thirteen, when all the demons I faced/were facing caught up to me. I have since gone through multiple therapists, clinicians, psychiatrists, hospitalizations, medications and programs, some good, some not so great. I've had really good experiences with some people, and terrible abusive experiences with others. During my first year in intensive treatment, I had to learn a lot about my challenges, trauma and ways to manage it. It turned into a general special interest in psychology which sparked a passion for mental health advocacy.

It's been a wild ride managing my mental health, but I'm beyond lucky I have access to care and resources for recovery and wellness. However, I wanted to do something beyond just working on myself. I wanted to find a way to reach others struggling in the way I have. All I've ever wanted to do since I was a little kid was to help people. When I was six, I wanted to be a nurse and help those who were sick. When I was eight, I wanted to help injured and suffering animals as a veterinarian. And when I was ten, I wanted to be a elementary or middle school teacher. While these career paths are all different, the underlying desire to help others remains consistent. By my freshman year of high school, I was fully dedicated to learning all about the human mind and experience so I could one day use that information to help people in need of mental health care. I took two psychology classes, did my own self studies and a lot of advocacy work. When I graduated high school, I graduated as a member of National Honor Society, and was enrolled in a local community college majoring in Social Work, which I am still studying at. I also got accepted into Hartford Healthcare's RLA, which trained me as a Recovery Support Specialist. I passed my exam in November 2022 and was officially certified as of then. The way I've found that I can reach others is to use my experiences as a way to guide and educate others, and bring about a sense of hope for others suffering to know that they are not alone, they matter and that things can get better.