Born and raised in a conservative Catholic household in Connecticut, Lindsay spent much of her early life following expectations rather than discovering her true self. After moving to New York, leaving her career to raise three children, she found herself deeply unhappy—until a single spiritual yoga class ignited a transformation. Embracing plant-based living, breathwork, and meditation, she began a journey back to herself.
Life’s challenges—a divorce, single parenthood, and parenting a child with mental health struggles—only deepened her calling. Returning to work, she conducted developmental testing for young children across New York City, witnessing firsthand the gaps in emotional and mental health support. Determined to make a difference, she earned a second master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling.
Today, Lindsay blends Compassionate Inquiry (trained under Dr. Gabor Maté), Transformational Breathwork (trained by Jon Paul Crimi), and mindfulness meditation (currently in a two-year teacher training with Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield) to guide others toward healing. Known for her direct, no-nonsense approach, she challenges clients to “feel to heal,” standing beside them as they confront their fears and reclaim their authenticity as she believes your deepest wounds hold the keys to your freedom.
Lindsay lives in the Bronx with her husband, Cleveland Oakes, a fellow mental health counselor. Together, they run Embrace Within, their private practice, and co-host the podcast The Devil You Don’t Know, exploring the shadows we ignore and the healing we avoid. Between them, they have seven adult children who still return home for free meals (and maybe a little therapy). When not counseling or assessing children, she’s biking, reading books, cooking all the plants, or escaping to the British Virgin Islands with Cleveland—because even healers need paradise.