Areas of focus

  • Couples and relationships

  • Sex therapy

  • Mismatched libido/Erectile dysfunction

  • ADHD

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

  • Life transitions

  • Grief

  • Shame

  • Burnout

  • Perinatal mood disorders

  • Infertility

  • Parenting

Modalities

  • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS)

  • Play therapy

  • Art therapy

  • Somatic therapy

  • Strength-based coaching

  • Motivational interviewing

Jenny Elander, LCSWA

she/her
Licensed in: North Carolina
Works with: Individuals (8+), Couples/Relationships/, Families, Parents, Evaluations (5+).

New River Wellness Collective

About me

I believe therapy begins with feeling genuinely seen, understood, and accepted. I strive to create a space where you—or your child—can show up as you are, without judgment, and where curiosity and connection guide the work. Whether I’m sitting on the floor playing with a child or talking with an adult about relationships, identity, or life transitions, I bring warmth, openness, and respect for each person’s unique way of moving through the world. My goal is to work collaboratively, build on existing strengths, and create meaningful opportunities for growth and change.

When working with children, I use a Child-Centered Play Therapy framework to support kids dealing with challenges related to anxiety, emotional regulation, self-confidence, relationships, school, and sibling dynamics. Before becoming a therapist, I was an early childhood educator, and I found myself deeply drawn to supporting children and families through the challenges, joys, and transitions of early life. I believe play is a child’s natural language and a powerful way to communicate, process experiences, build confidence, and develop new ways of relating. I create a supportive space where children can lead the therapeutic process through play, while partnering with parents and caregivers to strengthen connection and carry therapeutic growth into everyday relationships.

My work with adults centers on supporting people navigating depression, anxiety, OCD, trauma, neurodivergence, shame, and relationship difficulties, with an emphasis on developing greater self-understanding and agency. In relationship work, I help clients explore how early relationships and attachment experiences may shape the ways they relate to themselves and others. Together, we’ll examine protective strategies that may have once helped you navigate difficult experiences but may no longer be serving you, creating space for greater self-understanding, flexibility, and more fulfilling relationships. 

I work with individuals, couples, and families navigating life transitions, with a focus on increasing connection, understanding, and resilience. I also enjoy working with people who are exploring sexuality or navigating sexual concerns, including sexual dysfunction, low libido, mismatched libido, and hormonal changes related to pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, menopause, or medical gender transition. I am queer-affirming, sex-positive, kink-friendly, and committed to providing anti-bias care to everyone.

I also offer executive function coaching for adults who want support with organization, planning, time management, task initiation, follow-through, and creating systems that actually work for their brains and lives. We’ll identify what gets in the way, build on your existing strengths, and develop practical strategies and personalized systems that align with what motivates you. My goal is to make daily life feel more manageable while helping you build sustainable tools that support your goals.

Outside of work, I am usually playing with my kids, partner, and friends, and hopefully swimming in the ocean. I find joy in my garden, at the thrift store, and doing yoga. I am an (almost) Durham native, and truly love living here.

Areas of focus

  • Couples/Relationships

  • Chronic Illness 

  • High sensitivity and neurodivergence

  • Interpersonal Conflict

  • LGBTQIA+

  • Gender Identity

  • Identity Exploration

  • Sexuality

  • Life Transitions

  • Grief and Loss

  • Anxiety

  • Depression

Modalities

  • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

  • Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

  • Strengths-based approaches

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

  • AEDP-Informed (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy) 

Devin McCarthy, MSW

he/him
Licensed in: North Carolina
Works with:  Adults, Adolescents, Relationships/Couples, Individuals managing chronic illness, Brain cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma, diabetes, sickle cell disease, lupus, IBD, asthma, organ transplant 

New River Wellness Collective

About Me:

"Whoever you are, and whatever helps, I hope today is a day you are finding the softest way through." – Andrea Gibson

My path to social work grew while working in clinical research, where I spent seven years in patient-facing roles across a variety of disease groups. As a study coordinator, I worked closely with adolescents and young adults living with chronic conditions, as well as older adults navigating complex care. Connecting with patients and their families and hearing their stories throughout their care were meaningful and rewarding experiences that deepened my appreciation for direct client care and inspired me to pursue a Master of Social Work. 

As part of my MSW training, I worked with clients experiencing anxiety, depression, and complex trauma. I also supported LGBTQIA+ individuals, collaborated with clients and their care teams, and helped connect them with community resources to meet their needs. This work highlighted the importance of building trusting relationships and approaching each individual with empathy and care.

As a therapist, I am passionate about creating a supportive and affirming environment where clients can explore their identities, relationships, and beliefs without fear of judgment. I offer a nurturing, strengths-based approach and value working collaboratively with clients as they navigate their personal journeys. My practice is rooted in a commitment to social and racial justice. I strive to create an environment where clients feel seen, supported, and met with compassion, honoring their unique experiences and the goals they bring to therapy.






Research

Jensen, C. E., Muthukrishnan, H., Nyrop, K. A., Grover, N. S., Dittus, C. E., Stephens, D. M., McCarthy, D., Wilkinson, T. H., Muss, H. B., & Beaven, A. W. (2026). Utility of a modified geriatric assessment to identify impairments in adults of all ages with lymphoma: A prospective observational cohort study. Journal of Geriatric Oncology, 17(7), 103074. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jgo.2026.103074

Areas of Focus

  • ADHD

  • Autism

  • Neurodivergence

  • ADHD & Autism Assessment

  • Anxiety

  • Trauma

  • Emotional Regulation

  • Executive Functioning

  • Identity & Self-Understanding

  • Parenting & Parent Support

  • Learning Differences & School Challenges

  • Life Transitions

Modalities

  • Psychodynamic Therapy

  • Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)

  • Play Therapy

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

  • Motivational Interviewing (MI)

  • Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP)

  • Person-Centered Therapy

  • Strengths-Based Therapy

  • Neurodiversity-Affirming Therapy

  • Trauma-Informed Therapy

Elizabeth Hodgson, M.Ed., LCSWA

New River Wellness Collective

she/her
Licensed in: North Carolina
Works with: Children, Adolescents, Adults, Parents and ADHD/Autism Coaching and Assessment/Testing.

About me

For over 25 years, I have been curious about what makes each of us who we are—and about what can happen when we understand ourselves a little better. My work began with children and families, exploring the brain functions behind differences in learning and behavior and helping children understand their own strengths, challenges, and needs. I worked alongside parents and educators to replace frustration and misunderstanding with curiosity and support. Eventually, I wanted to understand and support more than how people learn and behave; I wanted to be able to sit with the emotional experiences, relationships, identities, and stories that shape who we become. That path led me to become a therapist.

Today, I especially love working with children and families, neurodivergent children and adults, transgender and gender-diverse people, and young adults finding their way into independence. My work often includes ADHD, autism, anxiety, trauma, emotional regulation, parenting, identity, and those seasons of life when you aren't quite sure yet who you are or where you fit. I also provide ADHD and autism assessments for children and adults. Whether we are doing therapy or assessment, I want our work together to help you make sense of yourself—to become more curious about your emotions and behavior, recognize your strengths, understand what you need, and find language for experiences that may have been difficult to explain before.

I believe understanding and respect can replace blame, humiliation, and labels. This is especially important in my work with children, neurodivergent people, and transgender and gender-diverse clients, who may have spent a great deal of time receiving messages about who they should be or how they should function. I don't believe therapy is about molding people into someone else's idea of who they ought to be. I want to help you know yourself more deeply, trust yourself more fully, and develop genuine self-respect for the person you already are. I bring curiosity, warmth, humor, and compassion into the room, and we will work together to understand not just what is difficult, but what makes you you.

 Areas of Focus

  • Addiction

  • ADHD

  • Anxiety

  • Attachment

  • Autism

  • Neurodiversity

  • Depression

  • Gender Identity

  • Identity Exploration

  • Interpersonal Conflict

  • Sexuality

  • Social Movement Burnout

Modalities

  • Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

  • Narrative Therapy

  • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

  • Constructed Awareness (CA)

  • Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)

  • Relational Life Therapy

Client Populations

  • Individuals, couples, polycules, and families

  • Trans and Queer folks (or their communities)

  • Neurodivergent folks (or their communities)

  • Activists, people experiencing social movement burnout and/or political anxiety

Bennett Wood, LCSW

New River Wellness Collective

he/him
Licensed in: North Carolina
Works with: Adults, Couples/Relationships and Assessment & Testing.

About Me

I’m a therapist because I admire human complexity. As a queer and trans guy from rural North Carolina, I spend a lot of time thinking about the ways we are each affected by the world we live in. I approach this work with strong convictions regarding social justice, community care, and liberatory practices, and I am joyfully committed to dismantling systems of oppression.

As a therapist, I enjoy working with teens, adults, families and relationships. I employ a relational, emotion-focused and attachment informed model of treatment with all of my clients and draw from multiple therapy techniques to meet each client’s goals. I particularly enjoy working with couples and relationships, individuals managing life transitions, gender identity, and neurodiverse identities. In addition to psychotherapy, I also provide Autism and ADHD assessment services with New River.

I have a background working with clients at the Autism Support and Advocacy Center, Neurodiversity Empowerment Services, and the Duke Gender Clinic. I was also trained as a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disorders (LEND) fellow at the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, which provided me with a rich understanding of neurodiversity and disability justice work. Racial justice, gender justice, and disability justice are critical to my work, as are frameworks of sex and kink positivity, harm reduction, and fat liberation.

Before obtaining my Master of Social Work at UNC Chapel Hill, I spent nearly a decade working in the political arena as an organizer, trainer, strategist, and negotiator. I hold undergraduate degrees in Behavioral Economics and History, and a graduate degree in Peace and Conflict Studies with concentrations in Professional Conflict Resolution and Transformative Justice.

Outside of work I can be found frolicking around the Triangle with my wife and two very sweet puppies (Ava and Noodle). I spend as much time as I can playing music, reading good books, or getting lost in places with lots of trees and, ideally, large bodies of water. I am excited to be a part of the New River Wellness Collective team, and I look forward to getting to know you!

Certifications

  • Psychoanalytic Center of the Carolinas – Psychoanalyst in Training

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Certification – in progress (est. March 2026)

  • Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy Certification – in progress

  • Relational Life Therapy – in progress (est. Dec 2025)

  • Constructed Awareness Certification – in progress (est. March 2026)

Areas of focus

  • Neurodivergence (ADHD, Autism)

  • Trauma (PTSD, C-PTSD, etc)

  • Anxiety and OCD

  • Depression

  • LGBTQIA+ affirming care

  • Sexuality/gender exploration, development, and transitioning

  • Transitional life periods (birth, death, etc.)

  • Transitional hormonal periods (puberty, menopause, gender-affirming care, etc.)

  • Reproductive-related experiences and transitions, including family planning, fertility/infertility, pregnancy, postpartum

  • Bereavement and grief

  • Substance use

  • Relationship work, including non-monogamy and polyamory, codependency, coupling/conscious uncoupling, and parenting

Modalities

  • Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP)

  • Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)

  • Emotions-Focused Therapy (EFT)

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR)

  • Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT)

  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

  • Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

  • Attachment-based

  • Narrative Therapy

  • Somatic

  • Art Therapy

  • Music Therapy

Liv Neely, LCSW

New River Wellness Collective

they/them
Licensed in: North Carolina
Works with: Adolescents, Teens, Adults, Couples/Relationships, Assessment & Testing.

About me

Activist Lilla Watson expressed: “If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” This vision inspires my approach to therapy: one that is collaborative, open, and exploratory, kindled by mutual feelings of trust and safety. It also reflects my philosophy toward the healing process as one that is relational, non-linear and rooted in both individual growth and collective care. 

I am a queer, White, nonbinary licensed clinical social worker. I am passionate about working with individuals for one-on-one therapy, offering support through the exploration of sexuality and gender, neurodivergence, transitional life periods, trauma processing, navigating relationships, anxiety, and meaning-making. In addition to therapy, I offer autism and ADHD assessments.

Prior to my work as a therapist, I’ve supported individuals and families through conception, pregnancy, and the postpartum period as a doula, while engaging in community organizing to expand access to care. My training and experience has given me tools to support individuals in psychotherapy with family planning, fertility/infertility, pregnancy, the postpartum period, and grief and bereavement. Having conducted research related to hormonally-driven mood disorders, I have worked with individuals across the lifespan to process and integrate shifts in identity, relationship to body, changes in relationships, hormone-related mood effects, sleep shifts, and encounters with the medical system, specifically around puberty, pregnancy, menopause, and/or medical gender transition.

Additionally, I offer creative, active, and nurturing support to tweens and teens. Through such a dynamic time of self-discovery and change, I bring playfulness and curiosity toward helping adolescents build healthy coping skills by creating space to explore self-concept and identities, set healthy boundaries, navigate roles and relationships, express feelings, and identify helpful accommodations. I have specialization in working with neurodivergent, trans, and gender non-conforming adolescents to navigate personal identity. I also offer gender consults with parents who are interested in learning more about their child’s gender and exploring ways to supportive and navigate systems of care.

My foundation in this work is informed by the Reproductive Justice organizing principles of Black and Brown, Indigenous, and trans women and femmes, honoring bodily autonomy and addressing the political aspects of healing. As an active student of Disability and Healing Justice, I value the significance of intersectionality, leadership of the most impacted, interdependence, sustainability, and collective liberation. I believe therapy is a space in which one’s identities and experiences can be explored in new ways by identifying past patterns and recognizing possibilities for transformation. I offer care from a position of anti-racism, anti-ableism, sex and kink positivity, harm reduction, and the “Health at Every Size” framework. 

Outside of work, I love spending time with my cats, woodworking, sewing, playing the synthesizer, and dancing with loved ones. Originally from the Southern California desert, I am so grateful to now call Durham home. I enjoy taking frequent trips to the mountains and coast to explore and connect with the flora, fauna, oddities, and wonders of North Carolina.

Certifications

  • Postpartum Support International’s (PSI) Perinatal Mental Health Counselor (PMH-C)-  in-progress

  • Institute for the Development of Human Arts’s (IDHA) Transformative Mental Health Core Curriculum- in-progress

Areas of Focus 

  • Relationships

  • Depression

  • Anxiety

  • Gender identity and expression

  • Trauma

Modalities

  • Feminist-relational

  • Mindfulness

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

  • Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)

  • Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)

  • ISTDP

Ben Weinberg, BS

New River Wellness Collective

he/him
Works with: Adolescents, Adults, Couples/Relationships, Families.

About Me

I first knew I wanted to be a therapist when I was working as a wilderness field guide alongside a family counselor in an outdoor program focused on healing in the family system. Amidst the backdrop of evergreen forested mountains, I got to witness the simultaneous interconnectedness and uniqueness of each individual on their healing paths. I carry this lesson through my work today, as an intern at New River Wellness Collective, completing my final year as an MSW student at NC State University.

I believe that each one of us is the expert of our lives and, with the right supports and resources, has the power to live from a place of truth, connection, and embodiment. I aim to walk alongside my clients as they explore what those internal and external supports and resources look like, moving at the speed of trust.

In my previous internship at Jubilee Healing Farm, I led group therapy sessions based in mindfulness and interpersonal communication skills and supported clients in seeking employment, educational opportunities and gender-affirming services.

While I am still in training, I am applying my foundational skills in somatic, mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral approaches and am open to working with individual adolescents, adults and couples, as well as families.

Areas of Focus 

  • Relationships

  • Depression

  • Anxiety

  • Gender identity and expression

  • Trauma

Modalities

  • Feminist-relational

  • Mindfulness

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

  • Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)

  • Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP)

  • ISTDP

Molly Parks, PsyD

New River Wellness Collective

she/her
Licensed in: North Carolina
Roles: Owner, Evaluation Supervisor

About Me

Welcome! I am a co-owner of New River Wellness Collective. I am a Durham native who has worked in private practice in the triangle for almost 15 years.  I work with both individuals and relationships and have specialized in work around gender identity, non-traditional relationships, trauma, anxiety, depression, and general identity and life transition work.

My approach is active and relational, and I am trained in multiple therapeutic strategies that I use with client’s based on what each individual needs and what we decide is the best approach to reaching their goals.  I believe deeply in our need for movement and time in nature, and spend as much time as possible outside near my pond, hiking, and exploring the woods with my family.  

Link to my private practice.

Areas of Focus

  • Depression

  • Gender identity

  • Trauma, PTSD, Complex PTSD

  • Adult children of emotionally immature parents (ACEIP)

  • Dissociation

  • Birth trauma

  • Relationship issues

  • Sexual and intimate partner violence

  • Stress management

  • Life transitions

  • Young adult development

  • Highly sensitivity and neurodivergence

Modalities

  • Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

  • Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS)

  • Mind-Body Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Frameworks

  • Relational-cultural

  • Feminist-relational

  • Social Justice/Anti-oppression

Amy Cleckler, MPH, LCSW

New River Wellness Collective

she/her
Licensed in: North Carolina, South Carolina
Roles: Owner, Clinical Supervisor

About Me

Welcome! I am a co-owner of New River Wellness Collective. I am a Durham native who has worked in private practice in the triangle for almost 15 years.  I work with both individuals and relationships and have specialized in work around gender identity, non-traditional relationships, trauma, anxiety, depression, and general identity and life transition work.

My approach is active and relational, and I am trained in multiple therapeutic strategies that I use with client’s based on what each individual needs and what we decide is the best approach to reaching their goals.  I believe deeply in our need for movement and time in nature, and spend as much time as possible outside near my pond, hiking, and exploring the woods with my family.  

Link to my private practice.