About Francesca Walker, LMHC-D, NCC
I built this practice to offer other women what my mother never got.”
Why I do this work
I am the elder daughter, and the only daughter, of Afro-Antillean Panamanian immigrants to the United States. I am also a rainbow baby.
My mother's first child was stillborn. I was born next. No one supported her through that loss, and she was expected to recover and raise the child who came after.
For most of my life, I saw her as a mother who struggled to meet my needs. Later, I also saw a woman grieving a loss no one acknowledged. That compassion is what allowed me to hold space for both truths. She deserved better than what she got as a grieving mother.
It's also why I do this work. Grief that no one acknowledges doesn't stay with one person. It affects families, sometimes across generations. I built this practice to offer other women what my mother never got.
How I work
My primary approaches are EMDR and Internal Family Systems (IFS). I chose them because pregnancy loss affects both the body and how you see yourself, and talking about it is often not enough to resolve it.
I also draw on Narrative Therapy and Liberation Psychology. In practice, that means looking at the messages you've received about your loss from doctors, family, and the wider culture, and deciding which ones you want to keep.
Who comes to see me
I work with accomplished women who are used to being the steady one at work and at home, and who are finding that this grief doesn't respond to the strategies that have worked for them everywhere else.
You may have tried therapy before with someone kind who still seemed uncomfortable with the topic, changed the subject, or said everything happens for a reason.
You can talk about all of it with me.
Education and credentials
I earned a B.A. in English and American Literature from New York University, an M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Vanderbilt University, and an M.A. in Counseling for Mental Health and Wellness from New York University. I am completing a doctorate in Leadership and Learning in Organizations at Vanderbilt.
New York State License with Diagnostic Privilege #016636
National Certified Counselor #1743343
Choosing to be witnessed is a radical act, and it creates new possibilities in your life. Dare to be radical. Dare to see what's possible.
Dare to be witnessed™