Meet Mick James, LPCA
Mick James (she/they) is a warm, creative, and deeply relational therapist who works with kids navigating fears and anxieties, and adolescents and adults navigating identity, emotional regulation, body image, and recovery. Mick brings a grounded, affirming presence to therapy and is especially skilled at helping clients who feel disconnected from their emotions, overwhelmed by internal pressure, or unsure how to express what they are experiencing.
Their work is rooted in the belief that healing happens through connection, creativity, and being truly seen. Mick integrates talk therapy with expressive and drama-based approaches, offering clients multiple ways to explore their inner world, not just through words, but through movement, metaphor, role, and play.
Expressive, Embodied Therapy for Kids and Teens
Therapy for Teens ages 13-18
I work with teens and adults, and am a strong fit for clients who are:
Exploring identity, including gender and sexuality
Navigating eating disorders or body image distress
Seeking LGBTQIA+ affirming, sex-positive care
Processing trauma or chronic stress
Managing co-occurring concerns such as OCD and anxiety
Interested in creative, experiential, or non-traditional therapy approaches
Clients often describe me as easy to talk to, collaborative, and attuned. I am especially thoughtful with clients who have felt misunderstood, pathologized, or pressured to “fix” themselves in past care.
Therapy for Kids ages 5-12
My work with young children is imaginative, playful, and deeply engaging. With years of experience working with littles, I use play therapy and expressive approaches to meet children exactly where they are — in movement, imagination, and play.
Drama therapy is my specialty. Through storytelling, role-play, dress-up, and creative play, children explore big feelings in ways that feel safe and fun. We might try on different emotions like costumes, act out stories together, or turn a child’s biggest fear into a playful scene where they become the hero of the story.
Rather than talking about feelings, children get to play them, move them, and transform them. Drama therapy allows kids to practice bravery, problem-solving, and emotional expression in their bodies and imaginations, building confidence and resilience along the way.
Mick believes therapy should feel like a place where you do not have to perform, explain yourself endlessly, or earn care. You are allowed to arrive exactly as you are..
Working with Mick, you can expect therapy that is:
Affirming of your identity and lived experience
Attuned to power, consent, and emotional safety
Creative, flexible, and responsive to your needs
Grounded in clinical skill while remaining human and relational
How does Mick support teens in therapy?
Mick’s approach is trauma-aware, fat-affirming, and HAES®-informed, with a strong emphasis on safety, consent, and collaboration. Therapy with Mick is not about forcing change, but about creating space to understand what your system has been doing to survive, and what it might need next.
Drawing from drama therapy and expressive arts, Mick helps clients externalize experiences, explore identity safely, and access emotions that may feel stuck or hard to name. This can be especially supportive for clients who feel disconnected from their bodies or who have learned to intellectualize emotions to cope.
Mick also has extensive experience facilitating groups and understands how relational dynamics, shame, and belonging shape mental health.
How does Mick support kids in therapy?
Mick uses Drama Therapy and Play Therapy in sessions with kids:
Play therapy follows a child’s lead through toys and free play, offering a natural way for children to express emotions and experiences.
Drama therapy adds guided imagination — using role-play, storytelling, movement, and character work. Children may dress up as different emotions, act out worries in pretend worlds, or rewrite scary stories so they feel empowered and in control.
In short:
Play therapy lets feelings emerge.
Drama therapy invites children to step into the story and change it.
Get to Know Mick.
Mick is an unapologetically queer, neurospicy therapist who believes all bodies are good bodies—no exceptions. They specialize in eating disorders, body image, and queer-affirming care, grounded in a body liberation framework that understands eating disorders as a social justice issue.
Mick is trained in drama therapy and expressive arts, and sessions are always guided by consent, choice, and collaboration. Therapy might include improv, role-play, drawing, or even literally smashing a scale together—if and when it feels supportive. Play, embodiment, and connection are used as tools to gently challenge self-doubt, build safety, and support authentic self-expression. And if none of that is your jam, Mick also loves the good ol’ traditional route of listening and talking things through.
Mick is an LPCA and holds a master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling and Drama Therapy from Lesley University. Their life’s passion is using connection and embodiment as radical, client-led acts of resistance.
Mick’s Resource Corner
Check out my resources for parents, teens, and professionals
Is it Picky Eating or ARFID?
ARFID stands for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder.
It is an eating disorder where a child does not eat enough food or avoids many foods, not because of body image or weight concerns, but because eating feels overwhelming, scary, or uninteresting to them.
Children with ARFID may:
Eat only a very small number of foods
Avoid whole food groups
Become very upset, anxious, or fearful around food
Not gain weight or grow as expected
ARFID is different from normal picky eating. Picky eating is common and usually improves over time. ARFID affects a child’s health, growth, or daily life.
When do ARFID symptoms appear?
ARFID often starts in early childhood, but it can appear at any age.
Many babies and young children are picky eaters, and that is normal. Around age 3, taste buds change and picky eating often increases.
You may want to talk to your child’s doctor if your child:
Eats only a few foods for a long time
Refuses new foods completely
Becomes very anxious or distressed around eating
Is not growing or gaining weight well
Important note:
If a child avoids food because they are worried about weight, body shape, or appearance, this is likely not ARFID.
How common is ARFID?
Experts estimate that 5–22% of children and teens may have ARFID.
ARFID was officially recognized in 2013, so awareness is still growing.
The 3 main types of ARFID
Most children with ARFID fit into one or more of these types:
1. Sensory sensitivity
Avoids foods because of taste, texture, smell, temperature, or appearance.
2. Fear of negative reactions
Avoids foods because of fear of choking, vomiting, allergies, or stomach pain.
3. Lack of interest in eating
Rarely feels hungry, forgets to eat, or finds eating boring or annoying.
ARFID and other conditions
ARFID often occurs alongside:
Autism
Anxiety or OCD
ADHD
Not every child with these conditions has ARFID.
What does ARFID treatment look like?
Treatment is supportive and gentle.
It focuses on:
Making sure the child gets enough nutrition
Supporting growth and health
Reducing fear and stress around food
Children are not forced to eat new foods. Progress happens slowly.
Is my child’s eating normal?
Children with ARFID may never eat a wide variety of foods — and that’s okay.
Frozen foods, fast foods, and prepackaged foods can be helpful if they allow a child to eat enough and stay healthy.
Parent Checklist: When to Ask for Help
You may want to talk to your child’s doctor if several of these are true:
☐ My child eats fewer than 10–15 foods
☐ My child avoids entire food groups
☐ My child becomes very upset, anxious, or fearful around meals
☐ My child refuses new foods for months or years
☐ My child often skips meals or forgets to eat
☐ My child struggles to eat at school or social events
☐ My child is not gaining weight or growing as expected
☐ Mealtimes feel stressful for my child or our family
Trust your instincts. If eating feels like a constant struggle and affects your child’s health or daily life, it is okay to ask for support.
Neurodivergent & Neuroaffirming Resources
Purpose:
A guide for teens, parents, and professionals to explore neurodiversity through books, communities, podcasts, and organizations that are affirming, inclusive, and accessible.
Neuroaffirming & Neurodiversity Books
Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity — Devon Price
Neuroqueer Heresies — Dr. Nick Walker
Divergent Mind: Thriving in a World That Wasn’t Designed for You — Jenara Nerenberg
The Awesome Autistic Go-To Guide — Yenn Purkis & Tanya Masterman
Loud Hands: Autistic People, Speaking — Julia Bascom
I Will Die on This Hill — Dina Gilio-Whitaker
Queerly Autistic — Edited collection
The Autistic Trans Guide to Life
Supporting Transgender Autistic Youth and Adults — Guide for families and professionals
The Neurodivergent Friendly Workbook of DBT Skills
The Autism Industrial Complex — Critiques systems and advocacy
Me and My PDA: A Guide to Pathological Demand Avoidance — Gloria Durà-Vilà & Tamar Levi
Laziness Does Not Exist — Devon Price
A Thousand Ways to Pay Attention: Memoir of Coming Home to My Neurodivergent Mind
Books by Morénike Giwa Onaiwu — Neurodiversity, disability justice, and advocacy
Specialized Resource Lists
PDA-focused: See PDA Resources by Properties of Light
Neurodiversity, trauma, and disability justice: Curated recommendations by Properties of Light
Neurodivergent-Affirming Online Spaces
Facebook / Groups
Neuroclastic
Neurowild
Autistic Not Weird
Reframing Autism
Rachel Dorsey: Autistic SLP, LLC
The Deaf Autistic OT
Kristy Forbes — Autism & ND Support (PDA focus)
Trauma Geek
Black & Autistic
Neurodivergent Rebel
Not an Autism Mom
Danny With Words
Greg Santucci, Occupational Therapist
Aucademy
Autism Level Up
AUsome Training
I CAN Network
Autplay Therapy
Ask Autistic Adults: A Resource for Parents of Autistics
Autism Inclusivity
Autistic Black Girl
Neurodivergent Lou
Therapist Neurodiversity Collective
Autisticelfcare
Autisticselfadvocacy
Websites
Embrace Autism — Community and self-assessment tools (RAADS-R)
Neuroqueer.com — Books, essays, videos by Dr. Nick Walker
Therapist Neurodiversity Collective — ND-affirming professional network
Neurodiversity Library — Literature and resources on neurodivergence
Better Understanding Terms — Dr. Nick Walker, article clarifying ND terminology
Actually Autistic Blogs List — Curated blogs by autistic writers
Neurodivergent Insights — Blogs, infographics, and training resources by Dr. Megan Neff
Resources and More — Dr. Devon Price
All Brains Belong VT — Neuroinclusive healthcare, social connection programs, chronic health guides
Neurodivergent Relationship Dynamics and Resources — Dr. Christine Henry
Autistic-Led Organizations
Neuroclastic
Autistic Women and Nonbinary Network
I CAN Network
Autistic Self-Advocacy Network (ASAN)
Reframing Autism
Jewish Autism Network
Neuroaffirming Podcasts
Divergent Conversations — Dr. Megan Anna Neff & Patrick Casale; neurodivergent-centered topics (new episodes each Friday)
The Autistic Culture Podcast — Matt Lowry & Dr. Angela Lauria; explores autistic contributions to society and culture
Aucademy: Especially Interesting — Neurodivergent individuals discussing their passions and interests
ADHD Resources & Podcasts
Purpose:
Support adults, teens, and families in understanding ADHD, building executive function skills, and navigating daily life.
For Adults with ADHD
ADDitude Experts — Leading experts answer real questions about symptoms, work, and family life
Hacking Your ADHD — Hosted by someone with ADHD; practical tools, research, and workplace strategies
Adulting with ADHD — Navigating adult life with interviews, strategies, and personal experiences
I Have ADHD — Coaching and support for executive function, self-discovery, and managing overwhelm
For Parents & Families
CHADD’s All Things ADHD — Interventions and tips for parents, teens, and educators
ADHD Essentials — Strategies for homework, screen time, and discussing mental health with kids
The ADHD Parenting Podcast — Practical advice from SLPs and LCSWs to support children with ADHD
For Specific Needs
ADHD for Smart Ass Women — Strengths-based reframing and self-discovery for women
Late Bloomers — Reclaiming life after an ADHD diagnosis, with a focus on women
For Teens (Directly Relatable)
ADHD reWired — Hosted by a clinical social worker with ADHD; personal stories and strategies
Hacking Your ADHD — Tips and tricks for thriving with ADHD
This Is So Awkward — Episodes like “ADHD + Teen Relationships” covering social and romantic challenges
ADHD Kids Can Thrive Podcast — Emotional regulation, identity, and challenges like “failure to launch”
For Parents & Teens (Expert Advice)
CHADD (Children and Adults with ADHD) — “All Things ADHD” for parents, teens, and educators
ADDitude Magazine Podcasts — Teen-specific topics: motivation, executive function, and parent-teen dynamics
ADHD Experts Podcast — Practical guidance for homework, emotions, and teen behavior