Resident in Counseling, VA-0704014566
She/Her/Hers

Supervised by Jenna Pagano, LMFT
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, VA-0717001515

Hayley Nixon McCord joined us in January of 2022.  She has a Masters of Science in Counseling from Northwestern University, and is working towards her counseling license under Jenna Pagano LMFT.   Hayley has a passion for working with couples and families, exploring sexuality, and the use of mindfulness in not only healing, but daily life.  Hayley sees herself as a tool to empower those she works with to heal from within.

Hayley completed an in-depth certification training in integrative somatic trauma therapy in March 2023 and is committed to a holistic approach in healing. She incorporates this in both individual and partnership work. Click through to learn more about Hayley's use of somatic approaches in the therapy room!

Hayley's clinical interests include emotion-focused work (especially with "emotion-resistant" or "therapy-hesitant" clients as Hayley likes to adoringly say), couple/partnership work, trust recovery in partnerships, sex therapy, nonmonogamous and kink-related topics, relationship issues and LGBTQ+ populations. She is committed to providing a safe and affirming environment for all clients.

I knew I wanted to focus my therapeutic practice on partnership work long before I started formal psychotherapy education and training. Relationships and attachments have fascinated me from a young age and I have developed a great appreciation for how messy, confusing, challenging and fulfilling our connections with others can be. I thoroughly enjoy working in the trenches with partners as we navigate whatever reasons they have for seeking a therapeutic space. An emotion-focused approach compliments my attachment-centered lens to systems work by enabling me to help client tease out the "details" from the more prominent patterns at play. I bring my direct and compassionate energy to the room whether you are seeking therapy with your partner(s) for specific concerns or more general concerns.

I have a significant interest in trust recovery work within relationships and have experience working with the delicate nature of boundary violations. Rebuilding trust after any type of betrayal (affairs, addiction, etc.) can feel overwhelming and I take a patient and nonjudgmental look at the factors that have impacted clients searching to reestablish security in their relationship.

I am passionate about working with LGBTQ+ populations and concerns within partnerships. My door is also enthusiastically open to nonmonogamous and kink-related concerns/topics. Additionally, I have knowledge and experience in working with the impact of addiction on couple/partner/family systems.

My interest in somatic-based healing stems from my curiosity about the traditional medical models used in psychotherapy and this sense I had of "there must be more". Through personal experience and witnessing journeys around me, I have seen the body's incredible capacity to respond to our experiences in ways that either enable or hinder healing. By incorporating the intuitive wisdom of our bodies and using our nervous systems as the guide and tool for regulation, we can begin to align our mental/emotional, spiritual and physical beings. Honoring the full system in this way gives us a chance to approach trauma and distress in a holistic manner that allows for long term healing, not just short-term relief. The mind has a tendency to get stuck or fixed, but the body is fluid (we are literally made up of water!); there is opportunity for things to move through the body more easily than the mind.

Learn more about Hayley's certification training

My deep curiosity about humans, combined with my personal commitment to growth led me to my path in a healing profession. The sacred connection between clients and therapist is vital to my approach and not something I take lightly as we can actively rework attachment patterns in this relationship. I work from a psychodynamic lens with an emotion-focused approach. My style is direct and typically casual over clinical. You will likely become accustomed to the phrases "nervous system", "regulation/dysregulation" and "co-regulation" in our work together as I believe our somatic experiences provide incredible insight into stuck points and approaches to healing in individual and partnership/family therapy. I admire the courage it takes to be vulnerable with another being, and consider the invitation into my clients' experiences a phenomenal privilege. I am humbled by the opportunity to see and know you in our individual or partnership work together.

Regulation is not calm, it's connection.

When we meet I will get a brief history of your experiences and work to gain a better understanding of what brings you to therapy at this time. I strive to make the first session feel more like an engaging conversation in a coffeeshop rather than an interview with constant questions. The first session is an opportunity to ask me any initial questions or express any concerns you may have. I look forward to beginning this adventure with you.

Hayley can be seen in the West End or virtually in Virginia