Meet Avery Spratt of Sitting Together Counseling

Today we’d like to introduce you to Avery Spratt.

Hi Avery, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The road to me becoming a therapist was anything but linear. Before landing here, I explored a lot of different paths…I’ve worked in UX design, publicity, retail, restorative justice facilitation, embroidery design, I even briefly sold handmade goods at local makers’ markets. Let’s just say I’ve tried on a lot of hats and, for a while, nothing fit quite right. But with each unique experience, I was able to collect a lot of information, piece by piece leading me to therapy.

Allowing myself to explore all these various interests was a gift. It taught me how to listen closely to myself, to exist outside of the pressure of always getting things ‘right’, to recognize when something wasn’t aligned, and to walk away when I needed to. That self-permission of stumbling, learning, and reconnecting led me not only to therapy as a career but also to a more rooted understanding of my beliefs, values, hopes, and to my own queerness.

Starting Sitting Together Counseling was an act of love – for myself, for my community, for the vision I hold of collective liberation and transformative justice. With Sitting Together, I am able to practice in a way that is completely authentic to me, aligned with my values, and dynamic as I continue my own work of learning, healing, and growing. My hope to create a space where my clients feel invited to connect to their most expansive, authentic selves. A place where they can feel it all. And it is my privilege to get to walk alongside folks as they set out on their own unique paths of healing.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I don’t know if many paths are smooth…I do know that on my path, the bumpy parts are almost always followed by magic.

For me, the bumps have been moments of self-doubt, deep uncertainty, being weighed down by people pleasing, struggling with perfectionism, moving through grief, loss, and betrayal, and learning to forgive myself when I really miss the mark.

A challenge for me has been to remain open and committed to curiosity even when all I want to do is crawl into my shell and stay ‘safe’. When the systems of oppression we are all steeped in demand disconnection, how do we stay rooted in connection? It is an uphill battle to recognize the impacts of and resist systems that traumatize us, invalidate our identities and our needs, breed burnout, reject boundaries, and demand the oversimplification of just about everything. That is a challenge we must navigate collectively. I am proud to say that practicing from a systemic, feminist, queer, and anti-oppressive lens is at the foundation of Sitting Together Counseling.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I specialize in working with Queer, neurodivergent and non-monogamous individuals and relationships. Sitting Together is a place where you can learn to embrace your most authentic self, write new stories, get practical skills, and build relationships and community that hold you in the ways you deserve.

I am a collaborative therapist because this work is not one-size-fits-all. I work with each of my clients to cultivate a space that meets their unique needs, honors the stories they have experienced walking through life, celebrates their strengths, and together we can draw up new blueprints for healing.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
I have to be honest, I’m really bad at ‘favorites’.

That being said, one memory that does stand out is the year I went to Texas to stay with my aunt for the summer. She sent me and my cousins to this day camp run by an older woman out of her garage, which looking back does sound a little odd, but that’s beside the point. At this camp. we spent all day just doing various little art projects – painting, drawing, pottery…you name it, it felt like we were trying it out at art camp.
Art camp is such a cherished memory because, not only did it feel like an opportunity to explore, but also a time where the tiny curious artist in me was embraced and encouraged.

To this day, crafting is such a significant part of my self-care routine. At the end of a hard day, you can pretty reliably find me at home, with my dog, and trying out a new craft.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.sittingtogethercounseling.com