About us
Counseling & Connection
We are a group of therapists and licensed psychologists focused on the wellness, empowerment and growth of the Neurodivergent & LGBTQIA+ communities. We provide psychological evaluations, individual and group therapy, and life coaching & skills support.
Kristen Cook (co-founder)
LPC, NCC
I totally understand the challenges in finding the right therapist with whom to divulge your world’s inner workings – I do. So, I think it’s only fair to be as candid as possible in revealing myself as a therapist and human being.
I am a Queer ADHDer. I spend my life outside of the office with my wild and beautiful kids and partner. I love to adventure in the mountains and I also love to cuddle up on the couch – both bring me joy and comfort. I struggle with large crowds, fluorescent lights, persistent whining and the vastness of the ocean.
As a Gen-Xer who came out in my 20s, I struggled greatly with my identity and sense of worth relative to the messages I was hearing from the world around me. I have experienced dark places; I believe that my growth and healing is a testament to good therapy. I believe in this work and in our resilience as human beings. We are truly fellow travelers.
I hold the experiences you share with me as sacred, and I am grateful to be in a position to walk with you in your healing and growth. That said, I enjoy laughter and unfiltered exchanges that may or may not involve colorful language and the acknowledgment of shared experiences. There is nothing that you might bring to my office that won’t be met with love and compassion – you need not hold back for fear that it may be perceived as strange or terrible or that it may simply paint you in a less-than-positive light. I am human, too – I am also striving to live better, to evolve – and I am deeply honored to be a part of your journey.
We all deserve a professional partner in our personal growth. While we aren’t friends in the traditional sense – I hope that you will experience the same trust and comfort to lean on our therapeutic relationship to continue to heal and grow.
Trauma-informed, ND & Queer-Affirming Individual & Group Therapy for Teens & Adults
Modalities:
- EMDR
- Psychodynamic
- Somatic-Attachment Therapy
- DBT
- Eclectic
Dr. Nadin Rizk (co-founder)
Psy.D.
Life is full of clichés and metaphors, so I won’t add more here… Instead, I’ll share my values with you in hopes that if ours align, I can join you for a brief time to help you move towards a life that is meaningful and worth living. Respect, integrity, and compassion are some of the values that are important to me, and I use them to guide my actions. I approach a situation, whether in my personal or professional life, with the lens of a helper. Sometimes, that means holding your pain for a moment, other times, it’s challenging an unhelpful pattern that’s moving you away from your values. Regardless of what you need in the moment, I will do it with compassion and respect.
In the role of an evaluator, I won’t have the privilege of knowing you for a long period of time. Rather, we will spend hours together in a day detangling and digging for patterns that have helped you and hurt you. By learning more about yourself, you regain a sense of agency over the life you hope to live. You may have already realized those patterns and you are looking for confirmation. As a helper, I am ready to listen, be curious, and learn about you from you, the expert in yourself.
I truly understood the power of community, connection, and belonging when I moved to Missouri from Southern California. I braved a new experience and a new world, and having a sense of connectedness was imperative. As a woman of color, I noticed the injustice and unfairness people experience, not just because of race, but because of differences. At Fellow Travelers, differences are celebrated not minimized to fit social expectations.
“The greatest hazard of all, losing one’s self, can occur very quietly in the world, as if it were nothing at all. No other loss can occur so quietly; any other loss - an arm, a leg, five dollars, a wife, etc. - is sure to be noticed.”
Whitney Wilson
LCSW
As a social worker, I love helping clients recognize their innate goodness and worth. I specialize in helping LGBTQ+ kids and adults, as well as parents of LGBTQ+ youth, find healthy perceptions of themselves so they can strengthen their relationships with themselves and the world around them and know themselves as peaceful, whole, and safe. With a particular focus on attachment and trauma, I have been able to help many individuals and families pair learned skills and perspective shifts with their inherent power and worth to make lasting change in their lives. Together, we’ll develop healthier thought patterns, explore emotions and identities, and figure out what it means to just be ourselves in this world.
As a parent, I understand the massive shift in oneself when we begin our parenting journey—I get why that can cause a change in our sense of self, and how unplanned detours can push us out of balance. I know the struggle of staying in touch with who we are—whether it’s in the early years of parenting, or we’re adjusting to changes in the family structure, or we’re adapting to someone’s change in gender identity or expression. I love supporting parents and their kids through life’s unique challenges to restore the family’s balance.
My clients would describe me as warm, nurturing, and curious. I never ask someone to be something they’re not—I meet you where you’re at, and your authentic self is not only welcomed in our shared therapy space, but embraced.
When I’m not in the therapy office, I love spending quality time cooking with my wife, playing with my three kids, and snuggling with my cats Rex and Livi.
Trauma-informed, ND & Queer-Affirming Individual Therapy for Kids, Teens & Adults.
Modalities:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Play Therapy
- Attachment-based Therapy
- Trauma-focused Therapy
- Eclectic
Talk to us
The Fellow Traveler Collective provides therapy for children, teens, and adults with Autism, ADHD and the LGBTQIA+ community.