Therapy for Race and Identity Based Stress
For the exhaustion that comes from being the only one in the room, the code switching that has become automatic, and the things you have stopped bothering to explain because explaining them costs more than carrying them.
Millie Chatelain, LMHC. Afro-Latina therapist, born and raised in the Bronx. Online across New York. $200 for a 60 minute session, private pay.
Request a consultation
Tell me how to reach you and I will get back to you, usually the same business day.
Rather talk now? Call (203) 826-8848
This form asks only for your contact information. What brings you in stays between you and me, and it is never sent to any advertising platform.
You should not have to start by explaining the context
A lot of people arrive here after therapy that mostly worked, except for the part where they spent the first ten minutes of every session providing background. Race, culture, immigration, class, family expectation, faith, language, all of it shapes how you move through the world and how the world moves toward you. In this room that is not a footnote to the clinical work. It is part of it.
Racial stress that accumulates
The daily, deniable version. Small enough to dismiss one at a time, heavy enough that you are tired by Tuesday.
Being the only one
At work, in the program, on the team. The performance it takes, and what it costs to keep it up.
Two sets of expectations
What your family needs you to be, what the outside world rewards, and the version of you caught between them.
Generational patterns
Survival strategies that made sense for the people who taught them to you, and no longer fit the life you are living.
Belonging
Too much for one place, not enough for another. The loneliness in that is real and it is worth taking seriously.
Identity across a whole self
Race, gender, sexuality and class do not take turns. We work with all of you at once, because that is how you live.
What culturally responsive actually means here
It means I will not treat your reaction to something real as a distortion to be corrected. It means the strategies we build have to work in your actual life, with your actual family, not in a version of it that someone imagined from the outside. And it means when something is genuinely unfair, we can name it as unfair and still work on what you want to do with it, because both of those things can be true at once.
It does not mean we only talk about identity. Plenty of the work is anxiety, sleep, boundaries, grief, and the ordinary hard parts of being a person. You just will not have to hold the rest of it back to get there.
Who you would be working with
Millie Chatelain, LMHC
Licensed Mental Health Counselor. New York #013500, Florida #MH27166, Massachusetts #LMHC10005627. Founder of Intersect Mental Health Counseling.
I am an Afro-Latina therapist, born and raised in the Bronx, and my work is shaped by a deep appreciation for culture and identity. I work with adolescents and adults navigating trauma, ADHD, racial and cultural identity, belonging, relationships and life transitions, and the kind of work stress that stops feeling temporary.
Therapy with me is not about being fixed. It is about making space to understand what you carry, where it came from, and what you want to do with it, at a pace that belongs to you. You will not have to shrink your experience or explain your whole background before we can get to work.
What happens after you reach out
I get back to you. Usually the same business day, by whichever way you asked me to. You can also book straight into my calendar if you would rather not wait for a reply.
We talk first. A short consultation where you can ask anything, including cost and scheduling, and I can hear what brings you in. There is no pressure on that call, and if I am not the right fit I will say so and point you somewhere better.
Your first session. We start where you are. You talk, I listen and ask good questions, and together we set a direction worth working toward.
Fees and scheduling
$200 for a 60 minute session. Private pay.
I am a private pay practice and I am not in network with insurance. That keeps your care between the two of us: no diagnosis required for a claim, no treatment plan sent anywhere for approval, and no limit on how long we work together other than the one that makes sense for you. If your plan has out of network benefits, ask me for a superbill and you can submit it for reimbursement.
Questions people ask me
Do you only work with clients of color?
No. I work with adolescents and adults from a wide range of backgrounds. What I offer is a space where identity is welcome in the room rather than something you set aside at the door.
Do you take my insurance?
I am a private pay practice and I am not in network with any plan. Sessions are $200 for 60 minutes. If your insurance has out of network benefits, I can give you a superbill to submit for reimbursement, and I am happy to explain how that works before you commit to anything.
Do we meet in person or online?
Online, by secure video, anywhere in New York. I am also licensed in Florida and Massachusetts, so if you have moved or you split your time, your care does not have to stop. In person availability in Westchester is limited and changes, so ask me when we talk.
How long does therapy take?
That depends on what you are working on, and you are never locked in. Some people come for a season with a specific knot to untangle. Others stay longer because the work keeps opening up. We will talk openly about where you are and what still feels worth the time.
Can I check your license?
Please do. New York licenses can be verified at op.nysed.gov. Mine is Licensed Mental Health Counselor #013500, and I hold licenses in Florida and Massachusetts as well.
How do I get started?
Fill out the short form on this page or call me at (203) 826-8848. You can also book a consultation directly on my calendar. All three land in the same place.
Bring all of it
You can start with a short conversation and see how it feels.
Call (203) 826-8848 Request a consultation