Therapists
kateri@transcendentself.com
Kateri Berasi, Psy.D. (she/her)
Kateri is a licensed clinical psychologist and the founder and director of Transcendent Self. Forever curious about people and cultures, she is particularly interested in questions related to identity, and enjoys helping patients examine the multitude of ways in which they consider and express themselves. Kateri’s thirst for exploration motivated her to live abroad, wherein she learned to speak French. She relishes expanding her worldview through observation, listening, and asking questions.
Kateri provides individual therapy and clinical supervision, and specializes in working with artists and those in the creative industries, as well as folks who identify as LGBTQ+. She views creative expression as a window into a person’s psyche, and delights in helping her patients open their curtains. For Kateri, therapy is a creative healing practice.
Kateri received her Masters in Mental Health Counseling from Columbia University, her Doctorate in Psychology from Long Island University, and her Postdoctoral degree from Columbia University. She has trained in a multitude of settings and taught a doctoral-level seminar on best practices working with LGBTQ+ individuals. All of her education and clinical training have been at sites accredited by the American Psychological Association. Kateri has written book chapters in the following publications: “Queer Enough or Too Queer? The Effectiveness of Group Therapy in the Facilitation of Queer Young Adult Identity Formation” in Emerging Adults in Therapy: How to Strengthen Your Clinical Competency; “Gay and Lesbian Asylum Seekers in the United States: The Interplay of Sexual Orientation Identity Development, Reverse- Covering, and Mental Health” in LGBTI Asylum Seekers and Refugees from a Legal and Political Perspective: Persecution, Asylum and Integration; “Cultural Diversity and Mental Health Treatment” in A Handbook for the Study of Mental Health: Social Contexts, Theories, and Systems 2nd Edition. Kateri has presented at numerous conferences on topics ranging from identity concerns to the practice of therapy.
shao@transcendentself.com
Jiayi Shao, MHC—LP (she/her)
Jiayi “Shao” Shao is a bilingual therapist with an international and multicultural background. She pursued her Masters in Mental Health Counseling at Columbia University. Having grown up in China, she believes in Tao, or the Way — the healing power that emerges as one learns to navigate the continuous flow of life with space and fluidity. She believes that fostering awareness and delving into various feelings, emotions, and sensations can assist individuals in resolving blockages that hinder a sense of freedom, ease, and deeper meaning in life. Passionate about the process of healing, growth, and rediscovery of self, Shao celebrates the courage of each and every individual choosing their own path.
Acknowledging her intersectional identities as a person of color and a queer individual, Shao is passionate about working with the LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and international communities. She utilizes an eclectic approach to therapy which includes psychodynamic, Internal Family Systems, and EMDR techniques. Her background as a Zen Buddhist and experience in improvisation theatre inspire a uniquely creative use of imagery, somatic work, metaphoric associations, and dream interpretation. She strives to create a warm, empathic, and reflective space that welcomes deeper questions, aiding individuals in reconnecting with their most authentic selves.
caitlin@transcendentself.com
Caitlin Morrison, LMSW (she/her)
Relationships are hard, conflict is normal, and seeking couples therapy does not mean your relationship is broken. Just like there’s no singular “right way” to be a human, there is no single “right way” to be in a relationship. Decades of romantic comedy films and fairy tales with people who “lived happily ever after” are, quite literally, fiction.
Whether you’re seeking individual or couples therapy, Caitlin believes that meaningful change tends to occur when people can shed societal expectations of what they “should” be, in favor of embracing who they are. To that end, Caitlin has an eclectic style that integrates humanistic, relational, and family systems perspectives to fit the particular situation and individual(s) in the room. She seeks to de-stigmatize sex, help people feel at home in their bodies, and encourage people to feel good about what they do in or with their bodies. Although Caitlin works with folks who have a variety of presenting concerns and backgrounds, she has a specific interest in working with individuals, couples, and people in partnerships who are identified as part of the LGBTQIA+, polyamorous, and kink communities.
After completing her Master of Social Work degree at Salem State University, she pursued post-graduate education in the Developmental Model of Couples Therapy with Dr. Ellyn Bader. She attained specialized training in working with sex and sexuality in psychotherapy, including desire discrepancy and infidelity, through the training “Assessing and Treating Sex Issues in Psychotherapy” (ATSIP) with Martha Kauppi, LMFT.
Caitlin strongly believes that her clients are the experts in their own experiences. She is committed to creating a space that is anti-racist, sex positive, and LGBTQIA+ affirming. She values transparency in the therapy process and seeks to build a collaborative alliance with everyone she works with.
anna@transcendentself.com
Anna Lucille Calabrese, LMSW (she/her)
Anna Lucille Calabrese is a Licensed Master Social Worker with a keen interest in the human drive to create meaning from the raw material of our lives. Dually trained in clinical social work and theology, Anna’s practice is grounded in mind, body, spirit integration. She draws her approach from many sources including Depth Psychology, Narrative Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Internal Family Systems.
Anna provides individual, couples and group therapy. At their core, Anna views all these modalities as relational experiences— providing form and structure that allow clients to deepen the sacred relationship to self and others. Some of her areas of focus include complex trauma, somatic experiencing, emotional regulation, addiction in its many forms, divorce and life transitions, coparenting, the LGBTQIA community, eating disorders and chronic illness.
Through all of these areas, and following her client’s lead, Anna brings a creative lens to therapeutic work—often intertwining art, writing, movement, nature, film and music into the healing process. She is also interested in helping clients create ceremony and ritual around the liminal spaces in their lives— be it professional transition, the start and end of relationships, birth and death, or recovery from addiction.
Anna holds a BA in Creative Writing from the New School, a Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary and a Masters of Social Work from Columbia University. She has worked as a Chaplin in a hospital, a counselor on Rikers Island and with Buddhist monks on end of life care. Through all these experiences, Anna draws on a simple truth: people desire to make meaning of their lives—no matter the circumstance.