Meet Our Newest Therapist, Tamar Back, M.Ed., LCSWA! by Jamie Brazell

Tamar Back, M.Ed., LCSWA

photo credit: Jacqueline Franquez

I am delighted to introduce our newest therapist, Tamar Back. 

Tamar and I first met over a year ago when she reached out to express interest in Out of the Woods Therapy. Since then we have been plotting and planning for her to join the team and now she’s officially ready to take new clients! 

In my experience with Tamar, I’ve found her to be a fantastic listener who leads with curiosity and a soft, yet confident presence.

She’s excited to work with adult individuals as well as couples, poly-relational clients, and even has this super cool idea of offering therapy for friendships. (Like couples therapy…but for besties).

Tamar graduated from the same Master’s program in Human Sexuality as I had several years prior. I fully and shamelessly admit that I was very excited to talk with another Widener graduate who was interested in moving to Asheville. Tamar completed the dual degree program and earned an MSW in addition to the M.Ed. 

Tamar also grew up in my home state of New Jersey - although I am from the south in the Pine Barrens and Tamar is from the northern part of the Garden State. I was so excited to meet her because of some of the things we shared in common and because her resume displayed an obvious interest in sex therapy, experience as a sex educator for Planned Parenthood, abortion doula, experience helping people navigate sex and sexuality through a cancer diagnosis, pelvic pain, and more. 

Tamar’s availability is pretty rad, too. Lots of clients are looking for evening and weekend options and that can be challenging to find.

Tamar will soon be able to take BCBS insurance, but in the meantime she can accept clients at a private pay rate. Feel free to learn about Tamar in her own words and send an email or appointment request directly from her profile here.

Meet Chelsea Sokolow, LCSWA! (by Jamie Brazell)

Chelsea Sokolow, LCSWA

Many therapists in this town are in the habit of doing a lot of networking with other therapists. While this word - networking - can carry a negative feeling for a lot of people, what it tends to look like for us is a lot more casual and often one-on-one.

I met Chelsea (she/they) for what was supposed to be a “networking” meeting after we were introduced by another clinician whom I deeply admire and respect. I had no idea that our meeting would turn into a job interview.

As I have mentioned before in prior blog posts, one thing I look for when hiring a new therapist to this practice is someone I would want to see myself for therapy. Chelsea is most definitely an obvious fit for our team.

Chelsea is absolutely brilliant, relatable, extremely easy to talk with, diligent about communication, and such a deeply kind, open-hearted human. Chelsea fits in with the values of our practice so well that I am confident that it will take no time at all to feel like this delightful therapist has been with us from the start. 

Our community need for sex-positive, queer-friendly, intersectional-feminist informed therapy feels ever-growing as we navigate what feels like continuous trauma in the collective culture. It deeply saddens me that there is only so much that we can do with the many broken systems that we face in our world. It also fills me with pride and gratitude when I know I have added someone to our team who so strongly exemplifies the mission and values of this practice. 

Learn more about Chelsea and send an email or appointment request here.

Chelsea can currently accept individual therapy clients, from age 13 and up, for private pay. We are waiting for approval for Chelsea to take BCBS insurance in the near future. 

Chelsea’s services are also available in Spanish. :) 

Reflections on National Vagina Appreciation Day (by Amanda Stem)

While scrolling Instagram, I stopped at a post about “National Vagina Appreciation Day,” (April 23rd). Yay, my vagina has its very own day! Before hitting “add post to story,” I decided to take another look at the photo. It was a pretty pink vulva accompanied by a floral arrangement with parts identifiers in delicate lettering (think mons pubis in a modern garden). Cute. 

Wait. 

Vulvas and vaginas aren’t these delicate, flowery pillows that society - with the demand and wealth of the patriarchy - have spent decades, centuries making them out to be. Vulvas and vaginas do things like: 

• Shed an organ on a regular basis

• Have their own unique ecosystem with secretions and bacteria (lactobacilli)

• Serve as home to the only body part meant for pleasure and nothing else (the almighty clitoris)

Some vaginas rip and get shredded while ejecting another human, and in its natural state, the vulva is meant to be covered in coarse, rough hair as a first line of defense. 

Vulvas and vaginas are metal AF. 

This isn’t meant to dismantle anyone’s own personal ideas about their vulva and vagina. This is a shout out to the people in the back - those whose personal stories about their vulvas and vaginas aren’t represented in our society. To the trans men who are vulva and vagina owners, trans women who have had vaginoplasties, the folx out there whose vulvas and vaginas are in pain or a source of shame, y’all who let your pubic hair grow freely, the vulvas that are aging, and anyone who doesn’t see their vagina at a garden party, you are seen. 

While this is a shout out, it’s also a call to action for widening our preconceptions of who is and isn’t a vulva and vagina owner. Inclusivity can quite literally save lives. Inclusivity means people of all genders who are vulva and vagina owners can be safer in accessing healthcare services, people with vulva pain won’t be dismissed for having a true condition and have to wait years for the appropriate care, people of older ages won’t be overlooked as a human with reproductive organs and/or genitals that still need healthcare, and so much more. If you know a person with a vulva and vagina or provide care for people with vulvas and vaginas, this is for you (pretty much everyone). 

So as we admire the power of vulvas and vaginas every year on April 23rd, and each day in between, let us not think of feminine, small, and tight but instead strong, rugged, supple, and resilient.

Recommended reading:

The Vagina Bible by Jen Gunter, MD 

Amanda (she/her) is a psychotherapist with Out Of The Woods Therapy.

Click here to learn more about her therapy. When not in session, Amanda enjoys reading, running, and being a part of a cuddle puddle with 2 cats and an 11 month old.