Natalie Savoy, LMSW

The goal of this review is not to discredit Natalie or “make her look bad” but after reflecting on my experience with my other therapist, and as someone who works in mental health, I have to validate my experience as well. I feel people should be aware of the following to prevent wasting their time like I did. Mental health isn’t a one size fits all approach and it is okay when there isn’t a good fit. However, that was not the case in my brief time working with Natalie. I completed a phone call with her the week of September 20th 2026 and was emailed September 27th to set up a patient portal. I have been considering having a vegan therapist or vegan support group for a long time since my main therapist of six years and I are working on other things I feel my vegan “grief” takes away from. I wanted a space to learn how to cope being vegan in a non vegan world, and then a space to address/work on my symptoms associated with my diagnosis, processing trauma etc. The phone call went great and I was really excited, I felt it was going to be a good fit. We completed the intake on October 5th and I took a lot of notes. I’m a note taker and again, I was really excited because I felt her modalities and everything she was saying during intake was what I have been looking for. I’ll only speak from my POV and experience, and won’t speak on any other factors but our only official sessions were on October 12th and the final one was on October 19th. Our session on October 12th was really productive, and I took a lot away from it. However, 30 minutes was spent on her sharing lived experience and she shared the same example twice. She disclosed the experience to me, which I am grateful for and really appreciate self disclosure. However, while moving on to the next topic she shared the experience again and said the same things verbatim. She asked me if I had any questions when there was about 10 minutes left of the session. She spoke non stop for a full 40 minutes. I mentioned I took a lot of notes, and am a quick learner so there doesn’t need to be a lot of time spent reiterating the same things during the session. I said I appreciated her self disclosure, but I was able to conceptualize and understand how IFS modalities were showing up in that example and that we did not need to spend too much time discussing the same story for 30 minutes. She replied “there’s going to be a lot of repetition, and you don’t have to retain all of it. If you ever get overwhelmed because you’re sitting too long listening, we can identify a hand motion and I’ll know that’s my queue. This isn’t talk therapy, this is different. You did everything perfectly, you don’t have to take notes, just show up and be known.” I became emotional, which she later weaponized against me during our last session October 19th, and I blamed it on “my brain” and ADHD, and that I have a hard time sitting through a lot of talking especially when it’s a safe space for me to just be human. But after reflecting with my other therapist I think I began to cry because I was just frustrated and didn’t feel heard. I’m a note taker, period, with everything. It’s not about retaining, or even the repetition it was just the fact she spoke about herself for a full 30 minutes about the same thing twice. Then another 10 about the same thing she opened the session up with, only leaving time for me to ask questions and confirm the next session. It was also frustrating because I shared an experience with her during intake, and she explained to me during this session how IFS applied to that experience. It was very beneficial, and it will set me up for success with whatever happens next. But again, she explained it about three times. I understood the “jist” during the first explanation, and I understand this modality being repetitious according to her but I feel approaches need to be person centered as well. I saw my main therapist the next day and shared the experience, and we read my notes together. She mentioned “sometimes therapists don’t need to spend so much time explaining the modality, and just use the modality. If she said youre not going to retain or remember all of this anyways, she can just spend more time implementing these modalities with you instead of teaching you about them.” She encouraged me not to get discouraged and to share this next session. The last session was October 19th. This was her 4th mention of me completing an assessment, but did not name the assessment or explain how I would be completing it. She shared this during intake, twice in our first session and during the 19th. She also kept saying “we were going to try things on” and “if you let me cook,and you invite me to share what I see going on, I think I can really help you. And if you think I’m wrong, please let me know.” She asked if I had anything to share from the last session. I shared how IFS is already helping me and I’ve been noticing it in my personal and professional life this past week, and that I was looking forward to learning more. I shared that during the last session she mentioned this is different from talk therapy, and that it’s going to be repetitive but sometimes I’m going to have days where I just need to be present in my grief with veganism, and I don’t think it needs to have a name. I reiterated I wanted a space to share thoughts I have about veganism that I haven’t shared with my other therapist, but that I noticed IFS has already been helping me in navigating my triggers with veganism. I also stated that I don’t want to spend too much time learning about the modalities, and I rather she just use the modalities with me if retention and learning doesn’t matter. She replied “some of your parts doesn’t know if IFS is going to help with animal rights. There’s a part of you that’s been holding on to this grief for years and wants to get it out, to be heard, and to have a space for it. Your parts aren’t acclimated, and they’re not sure what we’re doing and why.” Obviously that’s the case, that’s why I’m here. But I felt this response was overly pathologizing when it didn’t need to be. And she didn’t hear what I was actually saying. She asked, I responded, and my feelings were intellectualized. That’s the thing, I am not denying that I have parts that are nervous and apprehensive to this work but not every single thought, feedback or feeling needs to be analyzed in an IFS lens. And this is an example of how she would spend 20, 30, even 40 minutes speaking in circles about the same things I already understood. After sharing that, she went on to say “There is a part of you that feels space won’t be held, but I invite your parts to join in on something. The modality may not be a good fit, it could be me vs a part of you that needs to talk but I’m inviting you to see how I support clients.” She said the same thing during the last session, and essentially the same thing right before this, and I never objected. I honestly think I’ve spoken a total of 10-15 minutes collectively through-out the past three appointments with her. She said “sometimes we are looping, the clinical modality helps make change. And talking without the clinical lens could be counterintuitive. Parts get active around modality, and you can decide if that doesn’t work. It’s not as helpful as it seems to just vent.” But that’s the thing, I don’t want to vent. I want to share what I am struggling with so she can apply the modalities. How can she apply modalities when she’s teaching me about the modality the entire session, and doesn’t know how it even applies to me outside of the very brief things I shared during intake. Again, she started explaining the same thing again that I already understood, and we were halfway through the session. She said “Things get exacerbated with talk therapy. You don’t have to know this, but a part of you has a concern.” She just kept saying the same thing she just said but just worded differently, and I didn’t object or push back. She was talking about the importance of nuance, but I feel that importance was not applied to my sessions with her. She then spent another 10/15 minutes sharing the same thing again. “Your part has an agenda, and its screaming that someone needs to witness this.” I knew this at the start of the session when she said “your parts arent sure how IFS helps animal rights.” I didnt understand why we had to drive these points home so hard when I was just listening and nodding, and saying “I agree” hoping the verbal queue would encourage her to move on. I started to feel emotional because as I was hoping we were finally moving forward, and approaching 30 minutes into the session, she said the same thing again: “In my opinion, let me know if I’m wrong, but venting is not as regulating as your parts thinks it would be. We will create a container for it all to be expressed.” She said this last session, and she already mentioned how talk therapy and venting isn’t helpful literally ten minutes ago. I nervously laughed and said, “I’m ready.” Hoping this would be another queue that we could start applying the modalities instead of circling back to the same thing over and over just because I had a thought about my treatment. She said “we are about to go inside, and you can close your eyes and I’ll take notes for you. This is the first of many, and it’s a new muscle you are learning.” I said “I’m ready” and closed my eyes and put my hand on my chest. And then she said “but before we go inside I invite your parts to trust me, and I know your parts still dont understand this work or how it’s going to help. But this modality is a lot more beneficial than talk therapy, so I’m inviting you on how I support clients. It doesn’t have to make sense yet.” At this point I felt like I was going to cry and I said “I’ve been sitting here since 11, and I’ve been writing all of this down. It’s now 11:40 and we are almost done with our session. I mentioned I dont need reassurance and I dont need the modality explained over and over, it’s hard for me to be told ‘to go inside’ and then I close my eyes only for you to start saying the same thing you mentioned about 2 or 3 times now this session.” She said, “Well now we can’t do it because I have to respond to what’s happening in front of me.” I was taken aback because I said this in a calm tone, and felt she would be receptive since she suggested identifying a hand motion queue anyways. I replied, “we were about to ‘go inside’ I am ready, can we please begin?” And she said the same thing, how she “has to respond to what’s happening in front of me.” She literally started saying the same exact things I already shared above. I said “please, this is overwhelming. I’m reading my notes right now and you’ve stated all of this multiple times. I’m not objecting, but it’s not beneficial for me to hear the same points just worded differently each time for 40 minutes.” As I was saying this she was talking over me, and trying to interject. She said so many times during our time together “if I’m wrong, tell me.” But when I would share how I did not agree with something, she would literally cut me off, start speaking over me or would interject in the middle of me speaking. It felt like she was listening to respond rather than listening to help or repair. She asked me to share how this was making me feel and I said “I have expressed how this is making me feel about three times now, and it’s now 11:50 am. I’m doing this on my break from work, and it’s money. But I don’t feel heard, and the over-explanation is making me overwhelmed.” She asked if there’s anything else. I said yes but I’m overwhelmed and would prefer to email her a brief bullet list of examples, especially since I was looking at my notes right now and could share with her how many times she explained the same thing over and over that had nothing to do with the modalities or applying the modalities. She read back to me what I said and asked “am I wrong?” And I said “no, but again I’d like to reflect and email you a few bullets. I’m not trying to be difficult, and I know we’re both busy but I’d like to share examples with you over email.” She said “yes, please email me. And I will reflect on how my parts are showing up with this too, but you agreed to these modalities during intake and you knew what they entailed (if retention and understanding of the modalities isn’t important than why say this?) and last session you were crying about your brain and your difficulty with listening for long periods of time” (weaponizing that against me like I referenced earlier) then we confirmed the next session and disconnected. The next day she emailed me saying: “Hello Lacey, I want to first thank you for sharing your concerns yesterday. I have reflected on the them and have concluded that unfortunately my skillset does not align with what you are looking for at this time. Because it’s important to me that you get support that fits what you are looking for, I have found several vegan therapists who may be a better fit. I will include their information below. Please let me know if you would like me to hold our spot on Monday for a closing session.” I saw my main therapist yesterday and shared all of this with her, and we reviewed my notes again. I take live notes and literally was quoting Natalie in real time. My therapist was concerned about this approach and wanted to look further into IFS because she felt IFS was being used to “punish me” especially after I was denied “going inside” because Natalie “needed to respond to what was happening in front of her” just because I expressed a valid observation and concern about my course of treatment. I don’t like what I’m about to say next because it is not my intention to make Natalie look bad, and I even told my therapist “I understand because were all human, and sometimes people with ADHD can over explain or not read the room, I don’t think the disconnect was malicious or intentional.” Because Natalie informed me she had lived experience with some of my diagnoses as well. My therapist said “yeah but a therapist needs to be mindful of how these things are showing up in therapy.” I also am agreeable to new things and embrace discomfort. I am not afraid of discomfort, I seek it out because that’s how we grow. I’ve completed TMS (transcranial magnetic stimulation) where I went 5 days a week for two months, which was very challenging for me, I graduated from Interactive Metronome (IM) and was doing neurofeedback until my insurance stopped covering it. I am not afraid to hold myself accountable, and acknowledge when something isnt a good fit. But I have never felt this way with anyone in my 6 year mental health journey. Ive never been made to feel this way by any type of provider whether in mental health or physical. Natalie’s bio says she takes a non-pathologizing approach but I have never felt more pathologized in my life, and its made my anxiety worse because I have been second guessing myself and these interactions- but luckily I am able to navigate through it with my current therapist. I understand we are all human and our “parts” clashed, but her approach to all of this has been very concerning. She said we would create a hand gesture to signal to her when “she’s talking too much” only for me to be later punished and given up on just because I communicated. I’m not a therapist, but I never had the ability to give up on clients this quickly. I understand her acknowledging she is unable to help me within her current capacity, but I really want to prevent anyone else from getting their hopes up and wasting their time and money.