Victoria learned finance and management skills through work experience in small non-profits and owner-run businesses. Leadership she learned as she joined groups of people creating intentional communities, cooperative schools, multi-town recycling initiatives, and mother-daughter groups. Her family lived in Chicago where her mother was an activist and her father was an advertising executive. Victoria learned both skill sets and applied them as she lived in a community of dancers/anarchists, practiced spirituality in circles, raised children by the frequent art-project theory, and studied Non-Violent Communication. She has been involved with Windhorse since 2000. Currently, for fun, she volunteers at a small town library, borrows young children (art projects) and reads many books per week.

Phoebe received a Master’s in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling Psychology from Antioch New England Graduate School in 2003. In 2001 She was the first graduate student to intern at Windhorse IMH. In her 9 years at Windhorse IMH she has served as a Team Counselor, Clinical Mentor, Team Leader, Intensive Psychotherapist, Community Yoga Teacher, Addictions Group Leader and Admissions assistant. Phoebe’s Bachelors degree in Philosophy from Kenyon College and years of training in body disciplines inform her daily practice of developing compassionate awareness, action and relationships within the community of Windhorse.

Cat received her Bachelor’s in International Studies from the School for International Training and Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Vermont College. She has worked in gerontology and in public mental health as a therapist and/or outreach team supervisor for over 25 years. Cat has been a member of a peer counseling community since she was a teen and has taught cocounseling for over 35 years. She is originally from Eastern CT, lived for almost a year in Denmark, and has found a profound sense of personal and professional kinship at Windhorse.

Before joining Windhorse, Jeremy worked as a psychotherapist in urban and rural community mental health clinics. He has also done milieu work with children experiencing emotional distress as well as children and adults with developmental disabilities. He has been practicing meditation since 1997 and giving meditation instruction since 2006.

Jeremy has an MA in Integral Counseling Psychology from California Institute of Integral Studies, and a CAGS from Union Institute and University. He has received in-depth training in AEDP, Contemplative Psychotherapy, Gestalt, and other experiential approaches. Along with a number of Windhorse colleagues, he is currently participating in Deb Dana’s Rhythm of Regulation polyvagal-informed psychotherapy training.

Mary began studying Buddhism and Psychotherapy at Naropa Institute in 1975, and received her Master’s in Social Work from Columbia University in 1991. She also spent three years on retreat at Karme-Choling. After receiving her MSW, Mary moved with her family to Amherst and began working at Windhorse in 1994.

Mary enjoys spending time with her children (now young adults), as well as reading, painting, photography, and yoga quests.

Born and raised in the South, Elaine headed west after graduating from College of Charleston in 1993. A self-proclaimed vagabond, she settled in Oregon and received her Master’s degree in sociology at Portland State University in 2000.

Elaine taught sociology at the university level for a few years before heading back to the Carolinas to be closer to her tight knit family. She fell into marketing for mental health programs unexpectedly—working first as an Alumni Coordinator for a residential program for adults, while supporting the outreach efforts of the organization. A natural “people-person” who doesn’t mind travel to far-away places, outreach felt like a perfect fit. Over the years of experience, her passion for helping families find appropriate care during stressful and uncertain times has only grown.

Elaine lives in Portland, OR but her role supports outreach for the entire Windhorse nonprofit. When she’s not traveling for the organization, you can find her outdoors—either hiking with her husband, John and their German Shepherd, Max or in her yard digging in the dirt.

Eric Friedland-Kays is a Senior Psychotherapist as well as Outreach Coordinator at Windhorse, where he has worked since 2000. He earned a Master’s degree from the School for International Training and has been a psychotherapist for many years trained in Intensive Psychotherapy, Polyvagal Theory, Psychosynthesis, and Contemplative Psychology. He is also a Co-Trainer and Consultant with the Polyvagal Institute. Eric has been a meditator deeply connected with Vipassana Meditation, in the tradition of S.N. Goenka, since the early 1990s. He spent several years living in Japan and has traveled throughout the world. He is devoted to his life in Western Massachusetts with his wife and daughter, where they continue to further cultivate both self-reliance and a beloved community.

Kate received her Masters degree in Clinical Social Work from Simmons College. She has advanced training in Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Polyvagal Theory, and her work is also informed by attachment theory and mindfulness-based approaches. She has been practicing Theravada and Tibetan Buddhist meditation for over twenty-five years.

Kate enjoys spending time with her husband, daughter, and dog Clover. You can often find them hiking, eating at local restaurants, and visiting independent bookstores in the Connecticut River Valley.

Currently a Team Leader, Katherine has played several roles at Windhorse over the years, including Housemate, Senior Housemate, and Stillpoint Co-manager. Katherine combined her interests in story-telling and psychology and how they intersect by simultaneously earning an MFA in Creative Writing and an Advanced Professional Certificate in Counseling Psychology from Lesley University. Katherine is also a certified yoga instructor and teaches a weekly class at Windhorse. Outside of Windhorse, Katherine enjoys facilitating writing workshops for inmates at a women’s correctional center, arranging flowers, and running half-marathons.

Alan studied playwriting at Bennington College and later received his Masters of Social Work from Salem State University.  Prior to joining the Windhorse Community, Alan lived and worked at Gould Farm where he was a residential adviser. His interest in therapeutic work stems from a fascination with consciousness, spirituality and how we make meaning out of living. The best way to understand where this has taken him is to describe his bookshelves which include a section devoted to brilliant prose writers, Russian literature, the memoirs and journals of mystics, religious studies East and West, psychology, dreams, gay and lesbian studies and a bit of queer theory. Along the other wall run records spanning many genres (jazz being his most recent interest) and there’s a pile of cookbooks too. An ideal day for him involves walking or wandering, talking, laboring over some writing, trying a new recipe and a watching good film.

Originally from the Southcoast of Massachusetts, Amanda has explored and lived around all areas of Massachusetts. Amanda holds a master’s degree from Lesley University in clinical mental health counseling with a specialization in art therapy. She enjoys the power of artistic expression and believes that art is everywhere—it does not judge and can be a very influential therapeutic outlet. Amanda has worked with clients from birth to elders. Their experience includes community mental health, family systems, inpatient/hospitals, prison systems, outreach, crisis stabilization services, and substance abuse/recovery. She believes that human service work can provide a way of uncovering someone’s inherent strengths that they can use to achieve their self-identified goals. Sitting with someone and hearing their story is an honor and privilege. In their free time, Amanda enjoys making big giant messes in the form of many styles of art-making, playing the piano, wandering, and exploring different natural places.

Elise received her Bachelor’s in Psychology at Mt Holyoke College and has over a decade of experience at Windhorse. She facilitates both the Hearing Voices and seasonal Gardening groups. She has practiced in Shambhala and Insight Meditation traditions, and has training in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy. She loves mandalas, all things dog, growing flowers and food, walking and swimming.

Ryan graduated in 2005 from Burlington College with a B.A. in Transpersonal Psychology. He has been a dedicated meditation practitioner for over a decade. He has worked as a hospice caregiver and formerly as a licensed nursing assistant for many years, supporting patients and their families through the dying and grieving process. He also has a certificate from the Psychosynthesis Life Coaching program and has worked as a massage therapist for several years. He comes to Windhorse with an interest in becoming a LMHC, which he will be working towards at Westfield State University’s Mental Health Counseling graduate program.  He enjoys making music and finding stillness in nature.

Sarah received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Bennington College. Since 2014, she has been dipping her toes in life at Therapeutic Communities including CooperRiis, Spring Lake Ranch, and Inner Fire. Sarah has had the unique perspective of living on the property at each of these communities, giving her deeper insights into the challenges and joys of the inner work that residents encounter on their journeys. She also worked at the Center for Motivation and Change: Berkshires, with a specific focus in recovery from addictions. Her work often includes animals, whether caretaking farm animals alongside residents or bringing her dog, Zoe, to join in community life on the weekends. She has enjoyed leading groups in her pastimes of knitting, drawing, writing, and hiking. Sarah is passionate about the work being done at Windhorse to create space for the empowerment and respect of the whole self in mental health treatment. Her approach is rooted in the healing power of connection and empowerment.

Amy Hoopes (she/her/hers) grew up in a rural town in Northern Massachusetts.  She attended Hampshire College for undergrad, and quickly fell in love with the Pioneer Valley, where she returned to receive her master’s degree in clinical social work from Smith College.  Amy has experience working with clients of all ages from a diversity of backgrounds, primarily in long-term practice.  She has worked in inpatient, outpatient, and school-based settings and approaches her work with a social justice and trauma informed lens.  Amy utilizes relational and narrative theories to inform her clinical relationship and to center clients as experts of their own healing.  Drawing on insight from her own journey through the mental health system, Amy believes in sitting with, rather than fixing or medicalizing suffering, which means slowing down the pace and practicing self-reflection in all of her relationships.

When Amy is not working, you can find her hiking and skiing in the mountains, experimenting with new baking recipes, and playing with her kitten.

Nick received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Utah in 2020. As a doctoral student he investigated relationships between biological explanations of mental disorder, moral judgments, and treatment outcomes. In addition to working with the Windhorse community, he is a practicing philosophical counselor certified by the American Philosophical Practitioners Association, a part-time college professor, and is at work on a book about the philosophy of addiction based on his dissertation research. To help balance his tendency for overanalyzing everything, he maintains a daily practice of seated meditation, rock climbs, and takes long walks in the forest. He also enjoys playing and listening to music, reading, cooking, and spending time with his partner and dogs.

Maya Janson brings more than 30 years of mental health nursing and 20 years of dharma practice to Windhorse. She is also a published poet and a lecturer in the English Dept. at Smith College. On the weekends during warm weather you can find her learning to sail on Narragansett Bay.

Lynn comes to Windhorse with over twenty years of nursing experience.  She also has great interest in the field of phenomenology and holds a master’s in psychology in existential/phenomenological psychology. Outside of Windhorse, Lynn enjoys  swimming, gardening hiking and dancing.

David earned a Bachelor’s from Princeton University in Psychology/Linguistics in 1987 and an M.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Southern New Hampshire University in 2018. He also has certificates/licenses in Psychosynthesis, WRAP, Peer Advocacy, and from the Boston University Recovery Workshop. David has been on the Board at Windhorse since September 1997 and Peer Educator since 2014. David was Windhorse Associate’s first client. He wrote “Sanity Recovered” in House Calls and “The Will To Recover” in the Psychosynthesis Quarterly. He has worked at a warmline, facilitates the Windhorse Writing Group and Peer Social Hour, was a DMH consumer initiative grant recipient, trains peer counselors, and is completing Shambhala graduate level training.

Jeremy moved to the Northampton area in 2010 to attend Hampshire college. In the middle of his third year he took a medical leave of absence to address his long-standing issues with depression, self-abuse and anxiety. As part of that process he found himself as a Windhorse client and worked for several years to recreate his own mind, first in the Windhorse community, and eventually in the wider world. He attended vocational training to become state certified as a nursing assistance and worked caring for the elderly for several years. Eventually, he found his way back to Windhorse where he now works as a Peer Counselor. He has returned to school and is working to build a career in mental health through education, passion, and firsthand experience. 

Bio forthcoming.

Liz moved to the Pioneer Valley to attend school and began working at Windhorse in the summer of 2016. Though she has since moved to Connecticut, the Northampton-area, with its rich culture, diversity, and access to nature, continues to be a favorite place of hers. She values the supportive role she plays to the staff of Windhorse and appreciates the strong sense of community and focus on mindfulness that are a part of the organization. In her free time, Liz enjoys knitting, reading, baking, hiking, and spending as much time with animals as possible.

Annie lives in Northampton, MA but her role as fiscal manager supports the entire nonprofit. Annie brings with her over 30 years of fiscal experience gained from working in a variety of for-profit and nonprofit settings. She has served on the board of directors of her church. You might also see her contra dancing, selling her own unique line of handmade skirts, or singing for peace and freedom in the Amandla Community Chorus.

Elycia, a recent grad from Elms College started working at Windhorse at the beginning of 2019. She loves working in the Amherst/ Northampton area and becoming a part of a strong uplifting community. Working at Windhorse has given her the opportunity and support to excel in her new found career. When she’s not working she enjoys reading, enhancing the beauty of others through cosmetology, spending time with loved ones and making people smile.