Katie Grier

A parent and a teenager sitting side by side, one of them not thrilled to be here, is the pair I work with best. A lot of my clients are LGBTQ teens and young adults who arrived under protest, and most of them stay a long time. I would rather you judge me on that than on anything I could write about myself here.

Go at the pace of the person actually in the room. First sessions are mostly me asking questions and not assuming I already know the answer. After that we work on the specific thing, whether that is anxiety that has taken over, a mood that will not lift, anger with nowhere to go, or figuring out who you are while people have opinions about it.

Easy to talk to, and not shockable. Teens tell me I do not talk down to them, which is a low bar that a lot of adults still miss. Parents tell me their kid actually wants to come back. I am warm rather than formal, and I will follow you into whatever you brought in, including the parts you were not sure you could say out loud.

Are teens and young adults, though I see kids as young as five when a family needs it. LGBTQ clients, and anyone working out gender or sexuality with or without their family on board. Anxiety, depression, ADHD, anger, bullying, and substance use that started as something to take the edge off. Parents and families are welcome in the room.

I studied human development before social work, so I came at this from how people grow up rather than from what goes wrong. Adolescence is the stretch of life where one adult paying real attention changes the outcome, and often nobody is free for that job. I wanted to be the one who was free for it, week after week, for as long as it takes.

I hold a bachelor's in Human Development and Family Science and a Master's in Social Work, both from Ohio State, and I am a Licensed Social Worker in Ohio. I see clients in Dayton and by telehealth, with late afternoon and evening hours that work around a school or class schedule. Parents are welcome in the room, or not, depending on what helps.