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Transformational Therapy
for Nonbinary, Transgender, Gender Questioning, and Gender Expansive Folx

You’ve spent too many years trying to be the person other people wanted you to be.

You faced a constant struggle between the friends, activities, clothes, and other choices that felt right to you and the constant, maybe subtle, maybe not so subtle urging of others to make different choices. That somehow, you’d be more acceptable if you acted differently, fit in more, and broke the binary less.

You’ve felt alone, like an alien, like there was something deep down very wrong with you. That if people really knew you, they’d reject you as unacceptable, maybe as a monster. So you’ve hidden, fit in, and doubted your own sense of what’s good for you. You’ve looked to others for guidance on how to be acceptable since your own judgment has seemed so unreliable in the face of society’s feedback. And you’ve gained some acceptance but felt hollow, empty, and maybe like you don’t even exist anymore on the inside.

You’ve tried to overachieve to win acceptance. If only people could see how talented, smart, effective, and useful you are, then they’d come around. But you always keep your true self hidden, so any accolades never quite land and they never quite soothe the fear of being exposed and rejected.

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Connect with Dr. Aimee Ruscio

You want the strength to be the person on the outside who you are on the inside, even in the face of society’s constant messaging about gender.

You want a therapist who understands gender. You want someone who can walk with you on your gender journey. And you want a therapist to help with depression, anxiety, relationships, work stresses, and other life challenges that come up along the way. A therapist who understands gender as part of, but not your whole story.

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Dr. Ruscio is a talented therapist who meets the clients where they are at and helps them feel understood, validated, and seen. They have had extensive training in emotion-focused therapy which helps clients identify, process, and transform their emotional pain. Dr. Ruscio is highly empathic and works with the clients to help them achieve their therapeutic goals.

— Whitney Tschan,
Psy.D.

I’ve had the privilege to know Dr. Ruscio since we met in graduate school in 2010. From the start, I appreciated their uniquely sharp clinical acumen combined with an unwavering reverence for their clients’ humanity and individuality. Though many clinicians have strengths in one of these areas, Dr. Ruscio stands out for how they integrate skillful intervention while prioritizing a genuine, compassionate connection. Since I started private practice, Dr. Ruscio has consistently been at the top of my referral list.

— Jennifer Bakalar,
Ph.D.

I have witnessed how Aimee’s empathy and expertise guides clients through trauma and emotional distress and moves them toward transformation and healing. In addition to their extensive training in Emotion-Focused Therapy, Aimee brings their professional and personal experiences to support the specific needs of military veterans and the LGBTQIA+ community. I would trust Aimee with my nearest and dearest and wholeheartedly recommend them as a therapist.

— Sabrina Gibb,
LCPC

Working with Dr. Aimee

Dr. Aimee is a non-binary therapist who helps nonbinary, transgender, and other gender-expansive people.

If you have felt significant self-doubt and maybe even self-hatred, clients who have worked with Dr. Aimee learn to trust themselves and eventually feel more comfortable in their bodies, their clothes, their jobs, and their relationships. 

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Learn to listen to your own inner guidance to make choices that are right for you
Build a sense of momentum, freedom, and wholeness in your life
Learn to recognize which of your emotions are healthy, adaptive signposts, pointing you in the direction you need to go
Learn how to recognize and respond to painful emotions from the past, which often come up in the present, and which need attention and healing
Dr. Aimee facilitates deep emotional work, which clients say is both challenging and transformational
Often, you’ll feel both lighter and tired at the end of a session, like you just finished a hard but good workout

After a 16-year career in the Army where Dr. Aimee helped Soldiers heal from trauma, they transitioned to working with gender expansive people figuring out how to take up space and live full, vibrant, and joy-filled lives.  

Take the next step in your healing: book a 20-minute inquiry call with Dr. Aimee.

Together, you’ll decide if it is a good fit. You have nothing to lose and potentially everything to gain.

Dr. Aimee offers sessions in-person in their Washington, DC office and via video teletherapy.