Bailey Mason, MSW, LLMSW
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Populations Best Served:
Adolescents (8+ years old)
Young Adults
2SLGBTQIA+ individuals
Counseling specialties:
Trauma
Liberation Psychology
Grief (related to both death and other losses)
Therapist
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Language(s): English
Location(s): Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Telehealth
Insurances Accepted: Blue Cross Blue Shield, Blue Cross Complete, Meridian, & Washtenaw Health Plan.
As a limited licensed mental health provider, Bailey is unable to see clients with Blue Care Network.
Bailey’s clinical work is under the supervision of Elizabeth González, MSW, LMSW, CYT.
Education & Training:
MSW, University of Arkansas
Professional Interests: I provide therapy for children (8+ years), adolescents, young adults, and families. I work with a diverse caseload of clients, supporting those with a history of trauma, self-harm, suicidality, 2SLGBTQIA+ identities, relationship and family conflict, and general life concerns. With me, the therapy room is a space to explore and honor every part of yourself and your lived experiences. I prioritize understanding the influence of intersecting systems on your well-being. In a world that seeks to force people, especially people with oppressed identities, to take up less and less space, I seek to empower individuals to live authentically in resistance.
What it’s like in a session with me: Sessions with me are typically nondirective, meaning you and your inherent knowledge of yourself lead our work. For some clients, I act simply as a listening ear. For others, especially those who have found therapy unhelpful in the past, I act as a facilitator for deep exploration of emotions, memories, and subconscious beliefs that could be fueling their symptoms. My hope is that through our time together, both of us will grow in our ability to recognize what you need and how to address it in sessions.
Approach to Therapy: My approach to therapy is called "bottom up processing." When people imagine therapy, they typically envision "top down processing," which focuses on changing how you think in order to change your behaviors and emotions and improve your mental health. Though this process works for some people, many people with significant stressors and/or histories of trauma benefit more from bottom up processing. This approach focuses on what our emotions, behaviors, and physical sensations are communicating to us about the way our stressors and trauma have influenced our subconscious view the world, which can lead to symptoms of poor mental health. I view your patterns (isolating yourself from friendships, engaging in self-harm, etc.) as coherent, adaptive, and functional tools of survival based on your life experiences. These patterns are not reasons to feel shame. Though I claim to utilize a bottom up approach to processing, I also recognize that modern mental health therapy and evidence-based practices are reiterations of the ancestral knowledge of generations of healers.
My past child and teen clients have described me as safe, funny, “cringe”, and a consistent advocate. In my work with children and adolescents, I view the caregivers (along with other healthcare professionals, advocates/case managers, juvenile probation officers, etc.) as an integral piece of the youth’s team, which is guided by the youth and their needs. I expect each team member to participate in the care of the child and communicate any barriers to their participation. I believe that families provide the foundation of growth for children and adolescents, and I am as dedicated to providing tools to caregivers as I am to helping the youth work through their challenges. I believe each family is unique with their own strengths and challenges, and no family structure is inherently “better” than any other.
If each of these pieces core to my practice align with your values and hopes for therapy, then let's talk!