Meet Keri Baker, LCSW-QS
Therapist in Tampa for Highly Sensitive Adults Body Image & Self-Esteem | IFS & Brainspotting
Virtual in Florida + Vermont
she/her
You’re not in this alone
I’m a Tampa-based therapist who specializes in working with highly sensitive adults navigating anxiety, body image distress, their relationship with food, old family narratives, and the pressure to be everything for everyone. Many of the people I work with grew up absorbing strong messages about who they should be—how they should look, perform, parent, and behave—and now want to relate to themselves with more compassion, clarity, and choice.
I offer therapy in-person in Tampa and virtual therapy across Florida and Vermont.
Does This Sound Like You?
You think deeply, feel deeply, and care deeply—sometimes to the point of exhaustion. You may find yourself overthinking everything while wondering how everyone else seems so put-together. You’ve spent years following rules you never chose, and now those “shoulds” feel heavy, limiting, and confusing.
You might be:
Exhausted by constant negative self-talk
Struggling with body image, comparison, or internalized messaging from diet culture
Unsure how to feed yourself without stress after years of dieting or restriction
Feeling guilty for not doing “enough” as a parent, partner, or friend
Looking for a way to understand the patterns you keep repeating
Wanting to feel less reactive and more grounded
Wondering if your sensitivity is “too much”
Feeling like you “aren’t sick enough” to deserve support
Sometimes you feel like you’ve tried everything.
Sometimes it feels like you’re the problem.
Sometimes it feels like there’s no way forward that doesn’t involve self-punishment.
I want you to know: you’re not a lost cause. You’re a human who learned to survive in ways that made sense at the time.
And you don’t have to keep doing it alone.
How I work
I understand how to help because I’ve been there.
As a highly sensitive person myself, I know what it’s like to move through the world feeling everything deeply and noticing more than people realize. I also know what it’s like to turn that sensitivity inward. My relationship with food and my body was painfully complicated for over 20 years—I spent years trying to “fix” myself, constantly chasing the next solution, blaming myself when my body changed, and wondering why nothing ever felt like enough. I didn’t understand my own mental health, and nothing I tried made a dent in how I felt.
That lived experience shapes the way I show up as a therapist today.
I don’t believe a therapist needs to have lived your exact story. But when it comes to sensitivity, body image, and internalized messages about worth, it matters to sit with someone who truly gets what those pressures feel like—someone who knows the sting of comparison, the pull of diet culture, and the weight of impossible expectations.
I will never ask you to go further than I’m willing to go myself. And I will always honor the pace that feels right for your sensitive nervous system.
My Approach
I believe you already have the wisdom you need—you’ve just been taught to ignore it. My job isn’t to tell you who to be; it’s to help you reconnect with the parts of yourself that have been overshadowed by shame, survival mode, and old narratives that were never yours to begin with.
My work is:
Trauma-informed
Anti-diet and weight-inclusive
Compassion-focused
Deeply validating for highly sensitive nervous systems
Rooted in curiosity, not judgment
I often draw from Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Brainspotting, which help you understand your inner world and heal the deeper emotional layers beneath anxiety, shame, and self-criticism. But more than any modality, what matters most is that therapy feels like a place where you can exhale, soften, and be fully human.
I believe that:
You’ve been coping with wisdom, not failure
You deserve gentleness from yourself
You don’t have to earn care by suffering
Your sensitivity is not a flaw—it’s information
Your story deserves to be understood, not judged
specializing in:
Highly Sensitive Adults
Relationship with Food & Body
Anxiety
Therapy with me is…
01 Weight Inclusive
Weight stigma is real and harmful. Bodies of all sizes deserve care, respect, and safety.
02 LGBTQIA+ Affirming
My office—virtual or in person—is a space where all genders and sexualities are welcome, valued, and celebrated.
03 Authentic
No forced clinical distance. No polished perfection. You get a real human who listens deeply and shows up fully.
04 Rooted in Acceptance
Whatever you bring—your fear, shame, grief, confusion, hope—is met with compassion and curiosity.
Ready to Begin?
If you resonate with this, therapy can help you understand your patterns, soften the judgment, heal the deeper emotional layers, and create a life that feels more aligned with who you actually are—not who you were taught to be.
I’d love to support you.
In-person in Tampa • Virtual therapy in Florida & Vermont
My background
-
Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor
Internal Family Systems (IFS) : Level 1 Trained
Brainspotting : Phases 1 & 2, Expansion
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Motivational Interviewing for Weight Inclusive Providers
-
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in FL #SW20630
Qualified Supervisor (FL)
MSW (Masters in Social Work), Columbia University, 2006
BA Psychology, Lehigh University, 2004
-
National Association of Social Workers (NASW)
My Specialities
Many people feel stuck in cycles of dieting, food rules, shame, or constant body monitoring. I help you untangle the internalized messages from diet culture that have shaped how you see your body and relate to food. Together, we work toward a more compassionate, flexible, and trusting relationship with yourself—one that isn’t driven by guilt, pressure, or “shoulds” through a weight neutral and anti-diet lens.
Highly sensitive adults
I help HSPs navigate anxiety, past trauma, self-esteem struggles, body image concerns, and the pressure to “hold it all together,” especially in parenting and relationships. Together, we unpack the internalized messages that keep you overwhelmed or self-critical and build a more grounded, compassionate way of living. My goal is to help you feel understood, regulated, and more at home in yourself—without changing who you are.
relationship with food and body
Low self-esteem often grows from years of internalized messages about who you’re supposed to be, how you should look, and what counts as “enough.” I help highly sensitive adults understand the roots of their self-doubt, perfectionism, and people-pleasing so they can begin relating to themselves with more compassion and confidence. We challenge old narratives and build a grounded sense of self-worth.
Self-esteem
Therapy Approaches
-
![Brainspotting therapy Tampa]()
Brainspotting
Brainspotting helps you tap into and release the emotional tension and old wounds your body has been holding onto—especially the ones talking through can’t quite reach. It gives your nervous system a way to process what’s been stuck so you can feel calmer, clearer, and more at ease in your daily life.
-
![IFS therapy Tampa]()
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
IFS helps you get to know the different parts of yourself—especially the ones that feel anxious, critical, overwhelmed, or stuck—without judging or fighting them. When those parts feel understood instead of pushed away, you can make choices from a calmer, more grounded place and feel more like your true self.
-
![SPACE therapy Tampa]()
SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions)
SPACE helps parents learn new ways of responding to their child’s anxiety by focusing on supportive interactions instead of accommodations. By shifting how you respond to your child’s emotions and gently reducing patterns that escalate anxiety, SPACE supports your child in building confidence and independence while strengthening your connection as a family.
-
![Intessive therapy tampa]()
Brainspotting & IFS Intensives
Brainspotting and IFS intensives give you the space to go deeper, faster—offering focused time to work through the patterns, beliefs, and emotional blocks that keep showing up in your daily life. In this extended format, we can slow everything down, access what’s been stuck beneath the surface, and help you experience meaningful shifts in a shorter period of time.
