About Tiana

I grew up in a diverse area of New Jersey, outside of New York City. After graduating college, I was lost and confused about who I was and what I wanted. I had a sense of despair and deep unhappiness about the life that I was living, and my pre-determined position in a much bigger system. Inside, there was a knowing that I needed to slow down and tune in in order to find my own truth.

The Appalachian Trail and a calling to connect with the earth called me. I had little wilderness experience and I brought all the wrong things— however, I walked solo for 2175 miles for 6 months on a soul-searching journey. I experienced a lot of hard, dark, and lonely moments. I also found a deeper place in myself than I had previously experienced. All the beauty and harshness that the wilderness possesses stripped me down to the basics, to a core, real place where I met my “real self,” (I conceptualize effective therapy as being a similar experience of removing all the defenses we have to wear in daily life to survive, and getting us back in contact with our truest nature.)

From there, I began working for a therapeutic wilderness school and led teens who were experiencing depression, anxiety, and substance abuse challenges on weekly expeditions. I could relate so deeply to the raw honesty of these teens as they struggled with real questions about life, their identities, and their relationships with their parents or caregivers. 

In my early 20s, I had a serious back injury which left me in chronic, debilitating pain. Again, my teacher showed up: pain. I could no longer exercise, which had been my previous route to find some calm and internal stillness in the midst of all the pressures of life. I felt alone. I was forced to really experience the anxiety, grief, fear, and loneliness which was present- and to see that the ways I was coping, distracting, and avoiding these inevitable feelings wouldn’t work.

I was drawn to meditation and kundalini yoga, and ended up volunteering and living at Kripalu Yoga Center to study mindfulness. Since that time in my life, living mindfully has become a daily practice, contemplation, and challenge. Mindfulness comes down to using all the moments of life as a practice to re-center and become more awake- we all get lost in our thoughts and habitual patterns- and we can all practice coming back into the moment and embodying what we want to create/be in our lives.

In my late 20s, I went to massage school and deeply immersed myself in the science of the body and healing. I also solo walked thePacific Crest Trail (2650 miles). While I didn't know it at the time, it closed the door on the story that I was telling myself that I was broken, different, and alone. These stories can shape us, define us, and impact the way that we relate to the world. If we can break loose of the stories, we can open to the possibilities, opportunities, and vitality of life.

Later on in life, I walked theLong Trail (270 miles) and Colorado Trail (480 miles). These walks have been my route to facing my fears, my conditioning, and my truth. We all have our own routes and we all have these parts of ourselves to look at. Additionally, the "jobs" in wilderness therapy, community mental health, schools, and hospitals I've been lucky enough to receive have given me so many gifts: meaning, community, challenge, growth, and humility. My relationships continue to allow me to love and feel challenge daily.

I’m on an ongoing journey to understand the advantages and identities I hold, including being a cis-woman, being born in the US, benefitting from white advantage, and being visibly able-bodied. I am college educated, and have housing and food security. I aim to act in solidarity with those who hold different social locations than me.

Rooted in both Armenian and Eastern European heritage, I come from communities shaped by resilience, memory, and migration. Their histories inform my values, my voice, and my commitment to honoring the past while building towards the future. I bow to my ancestors, who endured the unimaginable and survived genocide, and gave me the chance to dream freely. My Armenian and Eastern European roots are not just cultural- they are spiritual, historical, and deeply personal.

I commit to approach issues of identity and oppression with humility and care. I believe that systems of oppression contribute to ongoing, lasting trauma and my intention is to co-create a space and relationship that is liberating, affirming, and rooted in your truth. I honor your lived experience, ancestral wisdom, and I recognize that your healing is connected to something larger- lineage, land, culture, and community.

I approach this work with humility and a commitment to lifelong learning. I acknowledge my own social conditioning, and remain open to making repairs and continuing to grow in ways that support truly affirming care.

I am a daughter, wife, and mother to two young children. In my free time, I love immersing myself in mindfulness, social justice, and psychedelics. I enjoy meditating, cooking lentil dishes, camping, yoga, and skiing. My personal relationships are built on connection, curiosity, genuineness, and love.

My life is about supporting collective healing, being active, being with the earth, and living with meaning and purpose.