Meet Kayden Costello

Growing up as a military kid, I learned pretty early on that life doesn't always come with a sense of stability or predictability. I've moved ten times throughout my life, living in several different states and even overseas. While those experiences came with their own challenges, they also exposed me to different people, communities, and ways of experiencing the world. They helped shape my curiosity about people and my understanding that everyone's story is influenced by the environments, relationships, and systems around them.

My interest in becoming a therapist started close to home. My mom is a therapist, and growing up, I always admired the work she did and the impact she could have on people's lives. While
she pursued psychology and I ultimately found my home in social work, her influence played a significant role in my decision to enter the mental health field. My own lived experiences as a transgender, gay, and neurodivergent person have also shaped the therapist I've become.

Navigating identity, expectations, and the complexities of simply existing in a world that isn't always affirming has reinforced how important it is to have spaces where people feel genuinely understood, respected, and supported.

I was drawn to social work because it recognizes that people don't exist in a vacuum. Our mental health is connected to our identities, relationships, communities, and the larger systems
we navigate every day. That perspective continues to guide my work, along with my belief that therapy shouldn't be about changing who someone is to better fit the world around them.
Instead, I want to help people better understand themselves, navigate challenges, and build lives that feel authentic and meaningful to them.

Outside of the therapy room, I'm a proud cat dad to Tofu, an enthusiastic Sims 4 player, and someone who loves spending time in the kitchen. There's a pretty good chance that if I'm
cooking, some kind of pasta is involved.

I believe that humor, curiosity, and the little things that bring us joy are just as much a part of being human as the difficult experiences we work through.

Above all, I hope to be the kind of therapist who makes people feel comfortable being themselves, even when they're still figuring out exactly what that means.