Creating a Safe Space to Find and Celebrate Your Identity with Aryn Davis
At The Center for Family Well-Being, our dedicated team of therapists share a common passion for prioritizing the holistic well-being of our clients. We firmly believe that mental and emotional wellness knows no boundaries — whether it’s age, gender, identity, race, or demographic — and our approach reflects this philosophy.
What truly sets us apart is our team's innate talent for fostering deep, meaningful relationships with clients navigating the unique challenges and experiences associated with their life stage. This is certainly the case for our very own Aryn Davis, Associate Holistic Psychotherapist at the Center. While Aryn prioritizes an individualized approach with clients in every phase of life, she’s especially connected with our kids, teens, and young adults.
With more than a decade of experience as a teacher, Aryn is very attuned to the challenges facing younger generations — most notably diversity, inclusivity, and self-identity. We chatted with Aryn about some of the unique ways she’s fostering a safe, welcoming space for this group at the Center.
The Value of Self-Discovery for Adolescents and Young Adults
What drives you to help those who may be on or searching for their path to self-discovery?
I've always been passionate about identity, and creating space for self-discovery is my mission! It has a lot to do with my own desire to more deeply and fully understand myself and what exists within me. Growing up, I had adults in my life and community who ensured my peers and I had that knowledge, and I want to offer the same support to others.
It’s so valuable to feel supported and seen — especially as a young person. We know that many face struggles connecting with their values and identities, and reconciling those identities with the labels and assumptions they face from the world around them. Can you speak to this?
I have experience being the only minority in professional and school spaces, so my physical identity was always top of mind when I was young. It's one of the first things that people assume about you — people think they know your gender or your race. This is deeply ingrained in our culture, and it impacts adolescent development greatly. It’s also an age when identities begin forming more fully, and lots of questions come up surrounding, "who am I?"
My work is showing kids, teens, and young adults — those within the early life transition periods — they're special for that reason. It’s during these phases when you start that pursuit of knowing and becoming OK with where you land, even if it isn't where you feel like you should land. Holding space for all of that is my mission toward helping them understand and explore their identities.
As your clients embark on journeys of self-exploration, can you share something that you use to guide and encourage them?
Children come into the world having finer attunement to their inner power. In our modern day society we're taught to disconnect or mute that innate ability. Yet it lives within us and goes nowhere — the ability to go inward is always there, and I want people to be able to understand and reignite that awareness. It's a powerful thing when you can become aware of the resilience of the human body and spirit. It's also an innate thing, and to be able to tap back into that throughout the day — no matter where you are in your life’s journey — is so powerful!
It truly is valuable to hold a space that, in your words, allows people to “reignite awareness” of their inner self. How do you see the Center meeting this need, particularly for younger generations?
At the Center, we want to hold space for kids, adolescents, and young adults to process, understand more deeply, and ask questions. We don’t push them toward answers or hand them answers, but we help them find those answers on their own. We also teach young people to have patience with themselves, because there aren't always clear answers.
Sharing a Heart-Centered Approach with the DC Community
We’re very excited for you, because one of the ways you’re forging a path for yourself and the Center is by working to bring therapy and wellness services to new, underserved communities. We can officially announce that you’re part of the Therapy for Black Girls directory!
Yes! It really does expand our reach a bit. We're located in northwest DC, but DC is huge and my hope is that we are able to spotlight the Center and the work of the Center, particularly our groups, so we can serve a wider population of people.
The Center does such a great job of supporting clients in remaining heart-, mind-, and body-centered. That’s always been a deep passion of mine, and I really want to bring this gift from the Center to more communities outside of Chevy Chase, DC. Being part of Therapy for Black Girls definitely aligns with and reflects that!
Can you share how you learned about Therapy for Black Girls, and how this resource has inspired you as a clinician and a person?
I started following the Therapy for Black Girls founder, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, five or six years ago and fell in love. At that time I was growing as a clinician and hungry for resources, and I began listening to her podcast, which is such a wonderful resource. (It’s definitely a resource for black women, but it also offers education on topics that are relatable for the entire public as a whole — even for those who aren’t specifically looking for therapy. I highly recommend it!)
The Therapy for Black Girls mission is to make mental health topics more relevant and accessible to black women; and to bring mental health awareness into all communities and destigmatize it. There are so many ways to support this mission: Sister Circles you can join in your area, the podcast, a blog, and the Holding Space Foundation, which is a national organization providing therapeutic resources to Black women and girls.
You’re a big proponent of group therapy, and you’ve seen the benefits it can offer the wider community. Currently, you’re facilitating an ongoing group alongside Stephanie Brown for middle-schoolers called, Compassion in Action - Tuning into Values, Identities, and Loving Our Whole Selves. What are you enjoying about this group?
There’s so much power in the group process and learning from one another! It’s amazing to see how much the kids absorb and grow from being able to share their own learning and experiences. They help and form and build the group the same way as the facilitators [Stephanie and I] do. You're watching something build itself in front of you, into a space of acceptance, support, and psychological safety.
Yes! Aryn is accepting new clients at the Center!
To schedule an appointment, please contact us online or call the office at (202) 660-1422.
Aryn also co-facilitates an ongoing In-Tune group for Middle-School Girls: Compassion in Action - Tuning into Values, Identities, and Loving Our Whole Selves, which is now accepting new members for the session beginning in January 2024!