Dr. Lastenia Francis, PhD, LMFT

Dr. Lastenia Francis is a licensed marriage and family therapist in NY, NC, and VA and the founder of Meaningful Emotion Therapy PLLC. With a PhD and 10+ years of clinical experience, she specializes in helping couples, families, and individuals build healthy, fulfilling relationships. As a Black, Caribbean woman, Dr. Francis is passionate about empowering marginalized identities, focusing on self-care, healthy conflict resolution, boundaries, and strong attachments. Her private practice provides a safe and inclusive space for clients to explore their emotions, heal from past trauma, and create meaningful connections with themselves and others. With a collaborative and compassionate approach, she is dedicated to guiding clients toward emotional wellness and lasting change. Dr. Francis is also very passionate about educating future Marriage and Family Therapists. With 7+ years of supervisory experience and 5+ years of higher education experience training aspiring therapists to do this work, Dr. Francis creates space for mentors who are hoping to strengthen their clinical identity while honoring their intersectional identities. Just like in therapy, Dr. Francis prioritizes aspiring clinicians, especially clinicians of color, a space to show up as their most authentic selves through continued commitment to exploring the self-of-the-therapist work while navigating the complexities of our identities in the clinical space. When you commit to working with Dr. Francis, she is committed to harnessing your systemic and culturally attuned lens, cultivating your brand to grow your own practice, and assisting you on your journey to becoming a AAMFT approved supervisor, if that is your goal. She also will support you with research if you are in pursuit of a PhD.