Holly Wade, LCSW LLC
“I believe people can heal. Humans are amazing beings and watching them learn about themselves and develop new skills to cope with our difficult world is inspiring to me. People are resilient and I am just guiding them towards healthier ways to live” Holly
““Holly has shown the ability to quickly engage the most difficult patient and/or parent in a kind and understanding way which is effective and supportive. Her approach is non-judgmental and compassionate, with a healthy sense of humor. Holly has an excellent knowledge of appropriate developmental stages, evidence based practice and community resources which have made her an asset to our team. I have enjoyed working with Holly and highly recommend her as a skilled clinical social worker who has integrity and ethics beyond compare.”
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Holly Wade, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker and holds a license to practice from the State of Tennessee Department of Health and previously was licensed by the State of Connecticut. She has worked across the spectrum of mental health levels of care and brings that experience with her into private practice. Holly specializes in helping people recover from difficult life experiences that some label as “trauma.” Trauma comes in many forms and we don’t all know how to recognize it, but it shows up as anxiety, depression, substance abuse and other mental health problems. Trauma is often accompanied by shame and Holly has specialty training as a Certified Daring Way™ Facilitator at building shame resiliency. The Daring Greatly™, Rising Strong™ and Gifts of Imperfection treatment models are based on the research of Dr. Brené Brown and fall under the umbrella of The Daring Way™.
In addition to her Daring Way™ training Holly is trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and has extensive experience with Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) from her training at Four Winds Hospital in Katona, New York. Her training in DBT and yoga classes at the local gym inspired Holly to gain more education in mindfulness. On a chance retreat to Kripalu Yoga Center in the Berkshire Mountains, Holly was introduced to the work of Jack Kornfield, PhD and has continued to practice and study Insight Meditation and yoga for the past ten years.
Through a variety of work, education and life experiences, Holly has gained expertise in working with survivors of childhood trauma, abusive relationships and families and individuals dealing with substance use disorders. She will use her expertise to guide you towards healing and resilience for optimal functioning. Holly has an indepth understanding of the challenges facing professionals such as lawyers, doctors, nurses, teachers and therapists and those who support them and enjoys working with them to improve functioning and reduce burnout. Her practice is LGBTQ affirming and she strives for cultural humility at work and in the world. As part of her social work legacy, Holly is a social justice warrior and will always advocate for safety and acceptance for all persons.
As mentioned above, Holly has worked across all spectrums of the mental health field. She started her career as a treatment coordinator at a psychiatric stabilization hospital in Connecticut where she worked with severely impaired children, adolescents and adults in mental health crisis. She then went on to establish a private practice in Greenwich, Connecticut serving adolescents and adults with chronic mental health conditions and building a group of like-minded clinicians into one location. After relocating to Tennessee in 2016, Holly returned to community mental health at the clinic level. In this setting she received additional training in outpatient mental health and substance use disorder treatment post detox. She has presented at the University of Memphis School of Social Work symposium in 2023 and 2024 on “The Power of Shame Resilience” and “Understanding Trauma Treatment.”
Holly served as the clinical director for The Tennessee Lawyers Assistance Program. In this role she was responsible for case management of the individuals in monitoring program, intervention and referrals for lawyers in crisis as well as educational programming. Holly presented on several different topics including Self Care During COVID to the Williamson County Bar Association, Recognizing the Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression and Understanding Mental Health Treatment for the Nashville Bar Association and the TN ACC and on Burnout Prevention at the 2021 Annual Bench Bar Meeting.
Holly is a native Tennessean with family from both East and West Tennessee. She attended Boston University, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Fordham University Graduate School of Social Work. In addition to her work as a therapist Holly has experience as an appointed and elected official, a church vestry leader and is a former board member of Person-to-Person in Fairfield County, CT. She has two grown children who live in CA and CO and a feisty bird dog named Scout.
““I fully recommend Holly Wade as a strong and diligent social worker who is capable of handling a multitude of clinical needs.”
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