Dr. Stacey R. Kohler, DSW, LICSW

I've been described as earthy and grounded — and honestly, that's the best compliment I could receive as a therapist. I came to this work with nearly 30 years of clinical experience, a deep respect for the whole person, and a belief that real healing rarely fits neatly into a protocol.

Dr. Kohler is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) and Doctor of Social Work (DSW), completing her doctoral degree at Simmons University School of Social Work. Her academic work centers on caregivers of autistic adults and the systemic service cliff at age 22 — the moment federally mandated school supports end.

For 27 years, I practiced at Lahey Hospital Medical Center — one of New England's premier academic medical centers. I worked in the Psychiatry & Behavioral Medicine Department, provided crisis response, and served patients across outpatient services, the ALS/MDA clinic, COPD, cognitive memory disorders, dialysis, ICU, the emergency department, and end-of-life care. Walking alongside patients through some of the hardest moments of their lives — that is where my clinical instincts were forged. Sophisticated, yes. But always deeply human.

Beyond my hospital career, I sought out the best teachers I could find. I completed a private intensive hypnotherapy training with Dr. Daniel P. Brown, PhD (2006–2009) — one of the world's foremost trauma and hypnotherapy experts — and nearly a decade of EMDR clinical consultation with Jocelyn Barnett, LICSW (2014–2023). I am also a certified Reiki Master. I believe deeply in continuing to grow, because my clients deserve a therapist who never stops learning.

I am the creator and host of Flourishing: Caregiving Autistic Adults, a podcast born from my DSW capstone at Simmons University and my own lived experience as a caregiver for autistic adults in my family. I wrote my doctoral work on the service cliff that families fall off at age 22 — when school-based supports end and families are largely left to figure it out alone. This work is personal to me. I also published earlier writings on Alzheimer's, ALS, and Parkinson's disease — conditions I know not just from the literature, but from years of sitting with patients and families who were living them.