About Firefly Rising

Firefly Rising Therapy supports people moving through grief, identity shifts, and big life changes, holding space for deep healing, honest truth, and new beginnings.

Our Mission

Our Approach

We are dedicated to fostering resilience and connection through compassionate, culturally responsive, and justice-oriented care that honors both individual stories and the systems that shape them.

I grew up on the East Coast in Philly and one of my favorite things about living there was the fireflies in the summer. I spent many summer nights frolicking with fireflies. For me they symbolize hope and joy.

Hope and joy were not always easy to come by growing up and throughout my life. I have walked through a lot of periods of grief in my life. When I lost people and pets, changed jobs, moved houses, lost touch with who I knew myself to be, and other periods of transition. Change can feel hard and there can be grief with changing.

For me both the name Firefly Rising and grief work is personal. I was born the day my maternal grandmother died. This was a significant part of my childhood and life. It taught about me a lot about impermanence and how to hold onto hope. I love helping people through transitional periods on their lives.

Why Firefly Rising?

More About Dre...

First, I am a partner in a mixed neurotype relationship and parent to four neurodivergent kids (ages 7 to 31). I was a progressive teacher and school counselor in public, private, and non-public schools for over 25 years and a life/ADHD coach for 15. I also adjunct at the college level and teach social emotional learning. I have a lot of degrees and formal learning experiences. I am also a high school dropout, teen parent with a GED and a first-generation college student. I studied psychology and sociology for my associate's degree, studio art and art education for my bachelor's, and human development and social change for my first master's. I went back to school in my 40s to become a therapist. I graduated in 2024 with a master's in marriage and family therapy. I'm a total nerd for learning.
My identities:
White/European descent, AuDHD, PDA profile rebel, able-bodied, AFAB/NB, Queer, artist, activist/solutionary, raised working class non-religious heathen, spiritual and witchy.

I am a work in progress, just like anyone else. I have been in a 25+ year long process of divesting from harmful societal norms. That doesn't make me better than anyone. That's not what it's about for me. It's about living my values and being aligned with what's true for me.

What are my values?

I hold an anti-capitalist frame that is community driven and supports small businesses before large corporations when possible. We live in a monopoly system so it is a challenge to go completely off grid with our finances. Being anti capitalist isn't anti commerce. I love supporting small businesses that house and feed people in my community. I also understand that we live in a complex system and not everyone has access to completely divest for financial reasons. I sometimes shop at big corporations because they have more affordable options. So while these are my values, I am not rigid. I do not require you to be the same or hold them in the same way. I understand the nuances in a nonjudgmental way.

If you're anti-capitalist, why is your fee set where it is?

I do not take insurance for a few reasons. I don't want to be policed by insurance companies in how we work together. These companies can be invasive and interrupt treatment. I got into this work to do what I feel is clinically best for clients. That doesn't always align with the insurance companies.

I do offer OON Superbills which often give you a higher reimbursement. It's a wild system.

Do you take insurance?

We are all surviving capitalism and it's tough. The mental healthcare system is deeply flawed. As a neurodivergent therapist with chronic fatigue who is supporting a family of 5, I charge a sustainable fee to cover my expenses (rent, student loans, food, health insurance, all the bills to keep staying in this field). I reserve 25% of my caseload (and more when I can) for reduced fee ($60 and up).

What are my political views?

I've been a Democratic Socialist since I took my first sociology class at the Community College of Philadelphia in the late 1990s.

Why do I hold these views?

I grew up in a poor, working class neighborhood in Philadelphia. By the time I was 18, I saw many people in my community harmed by addiction, poverty, death, and incarceration. I do not have access to generational wealth. Not because my family is flawed, because the system is. I watched my dad work hard his whole life and die with just enough to cremate himself. My dad wasn't a perfect person (as none of us are) but the harms the system did were not isolated to just him. I recognize that many people on the margins have similar experiences.

Why am I sharing
all of this?

Because I think transparency is important and you should know the values and ideals of the people you work with. I respect your sovereignty and mine.

** Disclaimer...

Because we all have them. I hold none of these identities perfectly. Perfection is not something any of us can attain. It's a supremacist ideal. I approach life from a compassionate lens because I believe we're all working shit out.

I love cats, creating art, leaving my phone behind and walking in nature, sitting at the beach listening to waves, and looking for fun finds at the local thrift shops.

The Fun Stuff...

Things that are important to me as a therapist...

Consent and Collaboration
Showing up without the pressure of perfection - sometimes that means things get messy
Laughter as medicine

Favorite Quote:

"There isn't anyone you couldn't learn to love once you've heard their story"
Mister Rogers

Tagline:

"May the bridges you burn light the way."

Favorite Bands/Music:

Rage Against the Machine, Cat Power, Rihanna, The The, Dolly Parton, Pretty Girls Make Graves, 80s/90s Hip Hop, Beastie Boys, Crane Wives, Hang Drum sounds, and A lot of EDM...like a lot - I love a good beat!

Favorite Superhero:

Wonder Woman

Favorite foods:

Mac n Cheese, Tacos, Fried Rice, Vegetarian Vindaloo, Chilli, Salads and most things green. 💚