Withdrawal Groups & Coaching

Hi, I’m Joanna! I'm a survivor of psychiatric drug withdrawal. After over 2 years of navigating protracted SSRI withdrawal, I’m finally on the other side...

If you’re going through medication withdrawal and feel unseen or unsupported, you’re not alone. I'm offering one-to-one coaching sessions for people looking for trauma-informed, lived-experience-aware withdrawal coaching. I'm also facilitating support circles, which are group calls for peer support and encouragement.

I'm trained and licensed as a mental health counselor in the state of Maryland, but what I offer here is not therapy, but rather coaching, because I've found that coaching is the most helpful approach for many people going through psych med withdrawal.

My story starts when I was first placed on psychiatric medications by a general practitioner who diagnosed me with panic disorder in 1996. In 2002 I experienced post-partum depression symptoms, and I sought out a psychiatrist who further medicalized my symptoms into a diagnosis of bipolar disorder (this eventually changed to treatment resistant depression). This pushed me into a long and harrowing journey of psychiatric medication poly-drugging. I received a total of 47 different psychiatric medications throughout a 28-year timeframe, as well as multiple electro convulsive treatments, transcranial magnetic stimulations, and ketamine infusions. I received my Master’s degree in Social Work in 2017 and was employed at a hospice agency for several years. In 2023 I tapered my psychiatric medications over one year - which was not a hyperbolic or microdosing method - resulting in multiple debilitating withdrawal symptoms.

I met Joanna through Angie Peacock’s PAWS support group, and we became healing buddies in 2024. After co-leading Joanna’s own PAWS and tapering support groups, I am now a healing coach alongside Joanna in supporting others on this road. Healing without psychiatric medications has been difficult but transformative, and I can walk with you and support you through the struggles of this unpredictable journey into your own beautifully expanded life. Whether you are experiencing withdrawal symptoms through tapering psychiatric medications or are completely off, I offer support, education, and compassion in your own path to whole wellness.