Molly Toomey, LCSW - Two Torches Therapy

Hi! I'm Molly. I'm a clinical social worker providing warm, affirming, trauma-informed mental health care for queer and trans communities, neurodivergent folks, immigrants and cultural outsiders, and others who live and love outside the box. I'm also a neurodivergent queer person, an immigrant, and was a first-generation college grad from a working-class family, and I'm working to make mental health care more accessible for my communities.

I offer you a nonjudgmental space to grapple with big feelings, confront tough questions, gently disrupt unhelpful patterns, explore your values and desires, and experiment with new ways to communicate and connect. I see myself not as a cold, clinical authority, but as your collaborator and co-conspirator, supporting you as you heal and grow on your own terms.

I'm trained, skilled, and experienced, but I am by no means an old-school therapist. Work with me is relational, collaborative, and very human! My main approach is relational psychodynamic therapy. This approach is all about healing through connection. It starts with building a genuine, trusting alliance with me where you feel safe enough to dig into the tough stuff with me, at your own pace, and builds on that trusting relationship to help you form new mental models for healthy relationships with others and with yourself.

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Many people hit college or young adulthood and start getting into serious relationships, and start noticing that they're stuck in cycles of relationships or patterns of coping or communication that are unhealthy, unsatisfying, or just don't feel right. They might be struggling with loneliness, isolation, difficulty connecting or finding community. Big questions about identity, personality, and desire are often coming up at this age too. All of this on top of the stress of full-time study, part-time work, and for some of you, continuing to support your families back home, financially or emotionally.

If you had a very tough childhood—maybe you had neglectful parents or experienced abuse or trauma—dealing with all this can feel even heavier. You may have never experienced what it's like to focus on yourself, to really be yourself and feel your feelings, without having to be the contained one, the "useful friend", the caregiving partner, or the parentified child.

That's why a relational therapy setting is so important, and can be so healing: it's the chance to experience unconditional acceptance and radical be-yourself-ness in a safe setting. It's a low-stakes space to be messy and in your feelings and really figure out what you want and don't want, who you were, who you are, and who you want to be.

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In therapy with me, I walk alongside you, not ahead of you; we move at your pace. Therapy with each person is different, tailored to their needs, but you can count on a few things: We'll be exploring how past and present important relationships affected you, sitting with heavy feelings in your mind and body, grappling with ruptures and conflict, test-driving new ways of relating, making mistakes, laughing, crying, raging, probably cursing at some point... And over time, you'll develop new blueprints for connection—experiencing and experimenting with them in real-time.

This is a space that's not just non-judgmental, it's consciously affirming of diverse identities and life experiences, from gender and sexuality to neurodiversity to culture and migration experiences. Here you are the norm, and you are in good company! I prioritize creating a warm, open, safer space to explore big questions about yourself, be it questions about identity, values and desires, or community and belonging.

I am also open about being queer, neurodivergent, and an adult immigrant, and about growing up low-income/working-class and being a first-gen college student. As a young adult, I had difficulty finding mental health services that felt accessible and providers who I felt I could relate to and who I felt wouldn't judge me or misunderstand my life experiences. I strive to offer that for my clients today as a therapist, and to bring parts of my authentic self into the therapy room.

I think and work systemically. Your wellbeing is not just thoughts and feelings inside a body! It's affected by the systems we move through, the laws governing us, our physical wellness, society, culture, finances, oppressions. I'm not afraid to bring the "big picture" into the therapy room. This ties into my work being "affirming": it includes not pathologizing your identities or life experiences, and being aware of what it means to move through the world as the multifaceted person you are.

I'm also trauma-informed and have worked with people with experiences of trauma (especially complex trauma, such as trauma from childhood and traumatic experiences over the long-term that continue to affect you in the present day). I prioritize creating a safe and collaborative environment in session, with transparency and respect for your boundaries. We move at your pace.

Importantly: I see your unique identities and life experiences as strengths, not deficits! Let's explore the strengths and wisdom you already have, figure out the gaps, and expand your mental health toolbox.

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**Is this a space for you?**

I warmly welcome people whose gender, sexuality, relationship practices, or cultural/spiritual practices lie outside of the mainstream, from neurodivergence to cultural identity to LGBTQIA+ to kink/BDSM. First-generation college students and people from low-income/working-class backgrounds will feel especially at home with me.

You'll learn a lot more about my background and my approach on my website: www.twotorchestherapy.com

Curious if we'd be a good fit? Please reach out for a free 30-minute consult and let's find out.

I'd be honored to join you on your journey from chaos to clarity and connection, finding new ways to navigate identity, desire, relationship rupture, trauma, healing, and moving from surviving to thriving. It's time to disrupt the usual therapy dynamics, to be authentic and curious, not pathologizing. So laugh, cry, rage, lean into your "Tower moment"—bring your full self!