Pronouns: She/her. There is power to centering compassion toward yourself and your journey, amid the ever-changing ups and downs of the world. I aim to create a nonjudgmental space where you can check in with yourself, normalize and accept your internal experiences, and work alongside your brain and body in ways that are helpful for you and your relationships. My practice also recognizes that injustices and limitations in our health, education, and legal systems can have impacts on our mental health and connections with one another. Therapy can allow insight into these effects as well as building skills for your self-advocacy and sense of community. I draw from anti-racist, human-centered, mindfulness, DBT, feminist/liberatory, and acceptance and commitment therapeutic approaches and am trained in EMDR. All are welcome, and I specialize in working with young people, emerging adults, college students, relationship issues and communication, neurodivergence, identity exploration, queer and trans folks, and families of queer and trans youth. I hold an M.S. in clinical mental health counseling from the University of Vermont and a B.A. in psychology from Kenyon College. Simply considering counseling is a cause worth celebrating, and I can’t wait to work with you.

Pronouns: She/her. In my counseling practice, I view you as the expert on your experience and work collaboratively to help you gain deeper self-knowledge and strengthen self-compassion. I aim to create an accepting, nonjudgmental, and trauma-informed space that honors your various identities and emphasizes your strengths. Using a combination of cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness practices, and narrative therapy techniques, I work with you to identify areas of healing and growth to help you create positive change. My work is grounded in a feminist therapy approach, and I believe that it is important to consider the impact that systems of oppression, bias, and discrimination have on individuals and their lived experiences. My interests include working with youth and young adults around sexual orientation and gender identity development, relationships, family conflict, communication, anxiety, and stress. I have a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Mount Holyoke College, and a Master’s in Counseling from the University of Vermont. I look forward to meeting you!

Sara Vaclavik, MA, Master’s Rostered | Counselor

Pronouns: She/her. I began at Riverstone as a counseling intern in August 2022 and was excited to assume a full-time counselor role in May 2023. I come to this role with eight years’ experience in different Vermont human services roles, having had the opportunity to help individuals with issues such as housing and financial instability, general emotional distress, domestic/sexual violence, and barriers to accessing needed services. I earned my Master’s in Clinical Psychology at Saint Michael’s College, where I also received a Bachelor’s in Philosophy, and I have also worked as a limited part-time crisis clinician at First Call since November 2021.  I believe that therapy can help individuals unearth important truths and potentials about themselves and that my primary role as a therapist is to create a safe and supportive enough space to allow this growth to occur. I rely primarily on cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic, relational, and developmental theories and practices in my work. In shorter terms, this means that as a clinician, I try to take in account a person’s typical ways of thinking and behaving, their history with their family, their way of relating to others, and their stage of life.  I am particularly interested in helping individuals dealing with life adjustment, family stress, depression, anxiety, and past trauma. Between my professional experience and current position at Riverstone, I have received specific training in suicide intervention, including in the Collaborative Assessment and Management of Suicidality (CAMS) model. In my free time, I like hanging out with my kitty and pup, taking photos, connecting with family and friends, and watching the YouTube series Good Mythical Morning with Rhett and Link.

Laishacarol Prondzinski, MS | Counselor

Pronouns She/Her. I stumbled into my passion for working with young adults 15 years ago and have been committed to showing up for them with compassion, humor and authenticity ever since. I have held many roles throughout my career, including Counselor, Social Worker, Mental Health Rehabilitation Specialist, Program Co-coordinator and Crisis Clinician and use these experiences in my current practice as foundational learning for holding complexity, celebrating healing and empowering self-identified change. I strive to move toward equity-based practices, while being humble and aware of my own intersecting identities. I view the therapeutic relationship as collaborative, strength-based and dynamic; meaning I curate therapy (with ongoing feedback from you) to incorporate interventions and approaches that best serve your needs. I view healing as a holistic process, am drawn to mindfulness and feminist therapy approaches and have experience working with individuals negotiating trauma, anxiety, depression, voice hearing and systemic marginalization. I received a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology from Saint Mary’s College of California and a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from the University of Vermont. For heralding in joy, I love impromptu dance parties, 80’s fantasy movies, hot yoga and exploring.

Megan D’Agostino, MSW | Intake Clinician

Lindsay Foreman | Counseling Intern

Pronouns They/Them. As a counseling intern, I am first and foremost a human who understands that life is challenging. I believe that doing therapeutic work to heal, make changes, and forgive ourselves takes a lot of courage, patience, and support. I am here to walk with clients on their journey and to offer deep listening, presence, and compassion. I also believe that therapy can be fun, and that humor can be healing. I try to create a warm, welcoming, and relaxed atmosphere where clients can show up as their full selves. From my personal experience as a queer, non-binary person with an invisible disability, I have come to believe that individual healing and social liberation are bound up together. Therefore, my approach considers individual, relational, and systemic factors. In my personal and professional life, I am committed to doing my part to disrupt and eliminate racism, anti-fat bias, ableism, transphobia and all forms of oppression. I draw from a variety of modalities including mindfulness, Internal Family Systems, and trauma-informed somatic work. In addition to being an intern at Riverstone, I am also a parent, a partner, the coordinator of the University of Vermont Mindfulness program, and a lover of all things wild!