Hello! I'm glad you're here.

My name is Bridget Kiley (she/her). I commonly go by my nickname, Bridge.

I am a licensed mental health therapist. My work centers around mental health therapy, body-centered healing, and writing.

Being human can be messy and hard! My work makes room for the full spectrum of human emotions and experiences. I am informed by liberation and social justice-based, LGBTQ+ affirming, and Health at Every Size frameworks.

My Why

I have found support through therapy, bodywork, and overall psycho-educational learning. This has happened through relationships, in my community, and with teachings found in life, books and practiced on the cushion. Community (compassionate, connective relationships), self-compassion (mindfulness + common humanity + self-kindness), and building skills (of all kinds + discovery through learning) are ingredients I've found in living a full, wholehearted life, so you will see this reflected in my work. 

Background on my approach

I believe everyone is an expert on their own experience. I hope to both offer connection and to share skills and tools I've learned along the way to help each person connect to their inner wisdom. I work with those interested in deepening their connection to themselves and the world around them, this includes a focus on areas of grief and loss, anxiety, depression, trauma, and relationship challenges. I value authenticity and laughter!

My approach to therapy is integrative and takes on different approaches depending on the needs of the person I am supporting. I have experience working with youth ages 5-18, emerging adults, and those well-established in their adult lives. 

I am licensed as a therapist in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and Connecticut and am Certified in Internal Family Systems which is the primary modality I work with. Given that we all have a lineage and family of origin, as well as early life experiences and identities that inform our path, the Healing Our Core Issues model of developmental and relational trauma is a foundational part of my work. I am additionally trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) which is a targeted trauma treatment approach.

My experiences include teaching, leading groups, and coordinating with multiple levels of providers (including parents, teachers, medical professionals, and outside agencies) to provide comprehensive, consent-based care. I especially enjoy mindfulness and compassion-based practices and working with those who, like me, are in the LGBTQ+ community.

Professional Experiences

• Fulbright Foundation Scholarship U.S. Award to Greece

• Co-author published in the book Applied Mindfulness: Approaches in Mental Health for Children and Adolescents; Graduate Thesis: Embodying Mindfulness: Exploring Implementation of Mindfulness-Based Interventions 

• Level I, II and Master Level Reiki training Trained through Patricia Venter at the Kurukulla Center

• Mindfulness-Training in Primary Care 8-Week Group Leader; Trained through Cambridge Health Alliance, Center for Mindfulness and Compassion in mindfulness and self-compassion

• Certified Internal Family Systems Therapist: Internal Family Systems Therapy Trained at Cambridge Health Alliance with Dick Schwartz, Martha Sweezy and Nancy Sowell; I am now an Assistant Trainer, training therapists in the Internal Family Systems model

• Healing Our Core Issues training Trained by Jan Bergstrom and Rick Butts

• Full Spectrum Doula Training, childbirth with Sabia Wade and DONA

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More about Bridge

I believe that therapy is a genuine relationship between two real people.  Knowing your therapist shares some of the same values or can appreciate your life experiences can give you more confidence that you will be understood, and not judged. Given that, I am open about sharing some of my own experiences in a way that facilitates your own process, such as:

• My clinical experience includes work at Cambridge Health Alliance, a healthcare network serving Boston's metro-north communities and Arlington Youth Counseling Center (AYCC), a licensed community-based mental health counseling center serving youth (ages 3-21) and their families. I am also trained as a childbirth doula

• I grew up in New England and am one of four siblings, along with having a sister who was stillborn. I now live with my family in the Greater Boston area, ancestral land of the Massachusetts, Pawtucket, Nipmuck and Wampanoag

• Social justice, liberation, and anti-oppression frameworks are central to how I understand healing and relate to myself and others. I am especially influenced by the work of Resmaa Menakem and his somatic approach to racialized trauma, which informs how I support people in reconnecting with their wisdom, resilience, and agency

• I am a white-bodied person of primarily Irish and also French Canadian heritage. My ancestors immigrated to what is now called New England from Ireland and France by way of Québec Canada. I value spaces that invite reflection on identity, ancestry, and belonging, and on how our histories shape our relationships, inner lives, and ways of moving through the world

• Outside of my work, you'll often find me spending time with loved ones and animals, walking with my dog, making art, or finding water to swim in

• My grandparents, who were body-centered psychotherapists, inspired much of my healing journey and my path into this work. They also introduced me to mindfulness through the tradition of Thich Nhat Hanh and the Order of Interbeing, a practice that continues to shape my life