About Side Quest Psychotherapy
Our Story
Side Quest Psychotherapy was born as an act of resistance—against the myth that life is supposed to follow a straight line, and the systems that define worth by how much we produce, achieve, and conform.
From a young age, we’re handed a script: get good grades, go to college, earn a degree, get a job, buy a house, start a family. But for many people—especially those with neurodivergent wiring or marginalized identities—that script never fit. And that isn’t a personal failure; it’s a systemic one.
We’re taught to see rest as laziness, fat as failure, and nonlinear paths as something to fix. We’re praised for self-denial and punished for moving through the world differently.
But healing isn’t linear.
Growth isn’t a checklist.
And who you are isn’t something that needs to be “fixed.”
Side Quest Psychotherapy exists for the misfits, late bloomers, deep feelers, and chronic overthinkers. For those who’ve spent years masking, shape-shifting, or shrinking themselves to survive—and are now trying to figure out who they actually are and how they want to show up in the world.
This is a space where complexity is honored, not pathologized. Where recovery doesn’t mean getting “back on track,” but finding your own rhythm. Here, your side quest isn’t a distraction or a detour. It’s the real story. And you get to be the main character.
Our Mission
At Side Quest Psychotherapy, our mission is to provide ethical, autonomy-supportive mental health care for people whose lives, bodies, and nervous systems have never fit linear or compliance-driven models of healing.
We exist to support people navigating complex inner worlds, nonlinear recovery, and identities shaped by neurodivergence, trauma, chronic stress, or marginalization—without asking them to become smaller, quieter, or more “palatable” to receive care.
Our work is grounded in evidence-based practice and guided by a deeper ethical commitment:
that care should preserve dignity, agency, and humanity at every stage of the healing process.
We believe:
Healing is not a performance, a timeline, or a checklist
Autonomy matters even when things are messy, intense, or unclear
People are not problems to be solved, but lives to be supported
Recovery is about building a life that feels inhabitable—not returning to a version of yourself that never fit
Our mission is not to get people “back on track,” but to help them understand themselves, expand their capacity, and make choices that align with who they are—rather than who they were told to be.
At Side Quest Psychotherapy, your side quest isn’t an interruption to healing.
It is the work.
Our Name
A side quest is the part of the journey that isn’t on the main map—but ends up mattering the most.
That’s where skills are built.
Where identity takes shape.
Where meaning emerges.
Who This Space Was Built For
Side Quest Psychotherapy was built for people who have been told — directly or indirectly — that they are “too much,” “not enough,” “treatment-resistant,” “medically complicated,” or “doing recovery wrong.”
We work with:
People living with OCD, eating disorders, chronic illness, disability, neurodivergence, or medical complexity
People whose nervous systems experience demand as threat, including those with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profiles who have been labeled oppositional, resistant, or “noncompliant”
Intersex and trans people navigating the psychological impact of medical trauma, non-consensual intervention, secrecy, shame, or healthcare gatekeeping
LGBTQIA+ folks who have learned to mask, negotiate, or compartmentalize themselves in order to survive healthcare systems, family systems, or society
People trying to understand who they are beneath expectations of constant productivity, binary gender roles, compulsory health, forced independence, or obedience
Many of our clients are not looking to get “back on track.” For them, the track was never built with their body, identity, nervous system, or need for autonomy in mind.
Ready to feel seen, understood, and supported in ways that honor who you are?
If this story resonates, your next step doesn’t have to be big.
Start with a free 15-minute consultation to explore whether Side Quest Psychotherapy is the right place for this part of your journey.