The Story

Life is not always calm - and maybe it is not meant to be. Calming Pathways is a space where you can pause, breathe, reflect, and feel supported through life’s natural ups and downs. While the path itself is imperfect, it becomes gentler when walked with someone who truly sees you. 

Through deep connection, co-regulation, and evidence-based tools, I walk alongside you - to help you feel seen, accepted, and understood as you grow, heal, and move forward on your Path. 

Life often has trees blocking the way, avalanches that result in overwhelm, and storms that seem impossible to overcome. Yet it also holds beauty, sunlight, and a nice breeze. Calming Pathways is a place to come exactly as you are, through it all.

Begin Your Path

Riley Strauss, LMHC

Hi, I’m Riley. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been captivated by the inner worlds of others. Even as a child, I paged through psychology books, sensed emotions I didn’t yet have language for, and observed people with an instinctive curiosity. I’ve always wanted to understand others more deeply, and I’ve always cared. 

Wherever I was - at family dinners, watching performers on stage, or standing across the net from another kid in a tennis match - I felt drawn toward empathy, meaning, and connection. Those around me would often joke that I was a “natural therapist.” The truth is, becoming a therapist never felt like something I chose; it felt like who I already was - my way of moving through and understanding life.

My curiosity only deepened with time as I continued to listen closely to the world around me. Externally, I became a container for others - the steady presence and the safe place. In my own therapy, I experienced what it meant to feel held myself - to be witnessed, accepted, and empowered exactly as I was. Those moments helped me heal and affirmed that this path had been mine all along.

Today, I create an inviting, grounding space where you can slow down, breathe, and reconnect with your authentic self. It is a profound privilege to sit with you - in your questions, emotions, grief, resilience, and becoming - and to be a part of your Path toward greater connection and fulfillment.

Colorful sky at sunset with orange, pink, and blue clouds.

My Credentials

Education

Northwestern University — Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Additional Child & Adolescent Specialization

University of Wisconsin–Madison — Bachelor of Arts in Psychology & Sociology, Certificate in Criminal Justice

Licensure

Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), Florida

Florida Department of Health | License #MH27389

Professional Affiliations & Trainings

Florida Psychoanalytic Center — Clinician Member, Student, and Mentee

Florida Psychoanalytic Institute — Certificate in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Internal Family Systems Counseling Association — IFS-Informed Therapist

Grief Training Toolbox — Grief-Informed Professional

American Group Psychotherapy Association — Clinician Member

Psychotherapy Approach

Relational Psychodynamic & Attachment-Based Therapy

At the heart of my work is the relationship we build together. In therapy, I invite you to speak openly about whatever arises - your thoughts, emotions, relationships, memories, and the parts of yourself that may feel conflicted or uncertain. My role is to offer consistent support, curiosity, and attunement as we make sense of your inner world together.

I approach therapy through this lens, exploring how early experiences may shape the patterns you fall into today. My goal is to help you understand yourself more deeply, reconnect with your needs, and develop a more grounded way of relating to yourself and others.

Internal Family Systems

I also integrate Internal Family Systems (IFS), a compassionate approach to getting to know the different “parts” within you - such as the part that strives for perfection, the part that worries, the part that shuts down, or the part that longs for connection but feels afraid.

IFS helps us understand the roles these parts have taken on, often with positive intentions, and allows for healing that comes from within. Many experience this work as clarifying and deeply transformative.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy & Dialectical Behavior Therapy

While insight and emotional understanding are central to therapy, I do incorporate evidence-based skills from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) & Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). These tools support emotional regulation, challenge unhelpful patterns of thinking, and offer practical strategies for navigating daily stressors with greater confidence and stability. 

Where our deeper work helps to understand why you feel the way you do, these skills are a helpful complement to provide tangible changes in the present - creating meaningful, sustainable shifts in daily life.

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Kind Words

Clinician Testimonials

  • — Professional Colleague, LMHC

    “Riley brings genuine kindness and compassion to her work, always prioritizing her clients’ well-being. Her skill in meeting clients where they are and cultivating strong, meaningful therapeutic relationships is remarkable.”

  • — Professional Colleague, LMHC

    “Anyone who crosses Riley’s path will be struck by her ability to make you feel genuinely seen. She has a way of seamlessly blending both warmth and competence. I’m grateful to have met Riley as a colleague, and would trust her with any of my own clients.”

  • — Fellow Clinician & Mentor, LPC

    “Riley is an exceptional human being and truly gifted therapist. Riley creates a safe therapeutic space with her calm, nonjudgmental and empathetic nature. Riley's support and expertise will lead you on the path to achieving your therapeutic goals.”

  • — Former Supervisor, PHD, MS, LMHC, LMFT

    “From the beginning, Riley has shown a natural ability to be fully present with her clients, creating a therapeutic space where individuals feel seen, heard, and supported. Her grounding, compassionate demeanor allows clients to explore difficult emotions safely and with trust.”

  • — Professional Colleague, LMHC

    “I wholeheartedly recommend Riley! She is not only knowledgeable and professional but also deeply compassionate and attentive. She creates a space where clients feel truly heard and supported.”

  • — Graduate School Colleague, LMHC

    “Riley is incredibly knowledgeable and leads with genuine warmth and care in the therapeutic space. Any client would be lucky to work with someone who is so attuned and compassionate!”

  • — Former Supervisor, PHD

    “From the start, Riley demonstrated that she was a woman with integrity, discipline, curiosity, intelligence, and humility to speak about what she knew as much as ask about what she didn’t know. These important characteristics are what enhanced her skillset.”

  • — Professional Colleague, LPC

    “Riley is such a kind, compassionate soul that truly cares about her clients and their well-being. Her ability to meet clients where they are at and foster strong, deep relationships with them is so admirable.”

  • — Former Supervisor, PHD, MS, LMHC, LMFT

    “Riley consistently applies evidence-based protocols, thoughtfully integrating them into her sessions while maintaining the flexibility and attunement needed to meet each client where they are. I am confident she will continue to make a meaningful impact in her clinical work.”

  • — Graduate school Colleague, LPC

    “Riley’s innate empathy and wisdom, coupled with sharp clinical skills, make her an excellent therapist.”

  • — Professional Colleague, LMHC

    “Riley is an amazing clinician that I have had the privilege of collaborating with! Her care for her clients is truly evident in the way she uses her skills to make sure she is creating a safe place for them to feel and process their emotions.”

“Powerful is our need to be known, really known, by ourselves and others, even if only for a moment.”

— Carl Rogers