Victoria Ringo, LCSW-C

Healing Work 

Therapy with me… I am a firm believer that the therapeutic relationship is everything. My goal is to create a warm, safe, judgment-free space for clients and to be my most authentic self. I am a quirky, playful, creative, quick-to-laugh person. 

My impacting identifies/roles that inform my work… I am a Midwesterner who happily relocated to Maryland 15 years ago via New Orleans, New York City, Massachusetts, and Maine. My Indiana roots define my core values, namely that everyone deserves compassion, help people however you are able, and do what you say you will do. 

I feel informed and knowledgeable about… Anxiety (childhood, teens, and adults), mood disorders, invisible disabilities, female theory of development, and psychodynamic theory. I incorporate approaching things creatively, so therapy may be any combination of CBT, building DBT skills, role play and games, and mindfulness. 

I work best with clients who… My all-time favorite work is helping people manage their anxiety – you are my people. Kindergarteners with Separation Anxiety, adolescents adjusting to college, young adults plagued with “what if” thoughts? Yes, please. 

I am not a good clinical fit for clients who… Anyone who prefers a quiet, reserved clinician might not feel that I am the right fit. 

What makes me unique… Working in mental health is my second career, and my first career in arts and education is a huge part of who I am. The first 13 years of my work life included improvisational storytelling, theater games, singing, humor writing, and having a playground as my workspace. 

Learning and Growing 

Currently, my focus is on expressive therapies. This includes additional training in play therapy, storytelling, journaling, and sand therapy. Podcasts, documentaries, and books I’m enjoying include Jack Kornfield, a documentary on the life of Walt Disney, and Gloria Steinem’s “My Life on the Road”. 

And I am very, very slowly learning to play the ukulele.

Fun Facts/Resilience Building 

I was the 1987 Singing Hoosier Queen, which is essentially a Swing Choir Miss Congeniality. 

What resources me to build resilience… The “being” version of recharging looks like a purring cat on my lap and Bob Ross at low volume.  The “doing” version might be Bikram Yoga, swimming with friends, or laughing loudly while reading David Sedaris. 

Education 

MSW, Smith College School for Social Work 

Master’s Thesis: Female Friendship Through Transition and Lifestage 

BS, Indiana University School of Music 

Vocal Performance and Literature 

Training/What I’m Reading 

DBT skills for Adolescents and Families 

IFS with Children & Parents 

Sand Therapy Integrated with Play Therapy 

Polyvagal Theory 

“Blending Play Therapy with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy” Athena A. Drewes “The Explosive Child” Ross W. Greene 

“Disability Visibility” Alice Wong