Stephanie Prymas, LPC
Pronouns: she/her/hers
How I think about therapy
My interest in interpersonal neurobiology and mind-body therapies informs my work with people who are working towards feeling more grounded and fulfilled in their everyday lives. I believe it is possible to make sense of all kinds of conflicting and seemingly irrational parts of ourselves if we can understand their context. I also believe our body sensations and emotions provide vital data to inform our healing. And I believe our brains develop in relationship with others, so I am passionate about using the therapeutic relationship to identify and work through areas where clients are feeling stuck—in an environment of warmth, appreciation for complexity, and humor.
How to know if we might be a good fit
My areas of focus include trauma, relationship challenges, sexuality/sexual concerns, identity, mood issues, and parenting. As a career changer myself, I enjoy working with professionals and people who are new to therapy. I am queer-affirming and love working with members of the LGBTQ+ community.
My clients often find themselves struggling to integrate an intellectual understanding of their past or current challenges with their associated emotions, behaviors, and physical sensations. They may also have difficulty reconciling conflicting feelings on the same issues. My clients feel more capable of tolerating ambiguity and approaching difficult feelings with curiosity and self-compassion in the course of our work.
My credentials
I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Maryland and my Master’s degree in Counseling from Northwestern University. I have worked clinically in partial hospitalization, university research, college counseling, and private practice settings and have additional training in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)/other trauma treatment and reproductive mental health. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the District of Columbia and a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the state of Maryland.