About Kit - Heartswell

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Kit Gray

LMFT

My path to becoming a marriage and family therapist

My journey to becoming a therapist started with an early interest in understanding people from different backgrounds and a desire to facilitate communication. After studying international relations as an undergraduate, I spent more than a decade running public health campaigns, crafting messages aimed at helping vulnerable populations.

But I longed to make a difference on a more personal level. After I got married and had kids, I experienced the joys and challenges of marriage and parenting and became captivated by research on family dynamics. My life’s mission became clear – to help individuals, couples, adolescents, and families feel known and understood by the people who matter to them.

I view my work through a systemic lens, helping you fully explore who you are individually and in the relationships that matter to you. I bring deep empathy, compassion, and authenticity to my therapeutic work and draw from my life experience as a wife, mother, sister, daughter, step-daughter, and adoptee.

When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and volunteering as a youth group leader at church. I enjoy yoga, biking, and long walks with our family dog, and am always up for a binge-worthy show.

My work as an adolescent, family and couples therapist

Because healing often arises from strengthening the relationships we have with loved ones, I am drawn to helping families and couples build trust and stronger emotional connections. I help individuals and couples identify and explore the patterns that have led to feelings of disconnection in their relationships, so they can regain the secure bonds that make them feel safe, loved, and cherished. I also work with adolescents to gain tools that transform their lives.

I believe that strengthening parent relationships has a positive trickle-down effect on children, making it all the more meaningful when partners move toward each other, rather than away.

I have experience working with clients from diverse backgrounds dealing with a wide range of issues, including anxiety, depression, bullying, life transitions, substance abuse, grief, and family and couple conflict.

How I approach therapy

Darkness is only driven out by lightness, not by more darkness.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Let’s face it—life is full of challenges that can leave us feeling scared and stuck. The “lightness” we need to find peace and better deal with life’s obstacles often comes in the form of compassionate support. I offer a safe, non-judgmental, collaborative environment where you can explore your thoughts, feelings, and experiences and feel empowered to work toward your goals to lead the life you want. I focus on helping you access your innate strengths to overcome barriers that have prevented you from living your best life.

I incorporate a variety of therapeutic techniques to meet each individual’s unique needs, including Emotionally Focused Therapy, Internal Family Systems, Narrative Therapy, mindfulness practices, interpersonal neurobiology, and somatic modalities. Having seen the evidence of the effectiveness of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy both in my sessions and in the research, I seek continual learning and supervision of this model.

I invite you to call today so I can join you in your journey to more joy and fullness. You may send me a message through the contact form and include my name in the subject line.

Kit Gray earned her masters in marriage and family therapy from Virginia Tech and gained specialized training in emotionally focused couples therapy. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in the state of Virginia.