Meet our Professional Development Speaker/ Presenter:
Tayler Clark, MSW, LCSW (she/her) is the founder and owner of Nova Mental Health Services, LLC, a progressive and inclusive mental health practice dedicated to serving the LGBTQI+, neurodivergent, and BIPOC communities. Tayler launched Nova MHS in 2019 after working in traditional mental health settings that prioritized profits over people. Frustrated by the pressure to push clients through a system that didn’t meet their individual needs, Tayler made the bold decision to build something better.
Driven by her core belief that mental health care should be as compassionate and personalized as what you’d want for your own loved ones, Tayler founded Nova MHS with the vision of creating a safe, affirming, and supportive space—for both clients and clinicians. After one final, disheartening conversation with upper management, she went home and filed for her LLC the same day. She didn’t have all the answers, but she had a mission: to stop searching for the ideal therapy practice and build it herself.
From the beginning, Tayler prioritized building a mentally healthy workplace where therapists could thrive. She believes deeply that investing in your team leads to better care for clients. That means encouraging therapists—including herself—to set boundaries, seek balance, and engage in their own self-care. “You can’t ask clients to prioritize their mental health if you're not doing the same,” she says.
Today, Nova Mental Health Services is growing faster than Tayler ever imagined. Years later, Nova MHS has become a thriving group practice known for its LGBTQI+ affirming, anti-racist, and neurodiversity-informed approach to therapy. While Tayler didn’t start with a formal five- or ten-year business plan, her vision is now crystal clear: to establish Nova MHS as a place known for inclusive, ethical, and culturally competent mental health care.
Driven by her core belief that mental health care should be as compassionate and personalized as what you’d want for your own loved ones, Tayler founded Nova MHS with the vision of creating a safe, affirming, and supportive space—for both clients and clinicians. After one final, disheartening conversation with upper management, she went home and filed for her LLC the same day. She didn’t have all the answers, but she had a mission: to stop searching for the ideal therapy practice and build it herself.
From the beginning, Tayler prioritized building a mentally healthy workplace where therapists could thrive. She believes deeply that investing in your team leads to better care for clients. That means encouraging therapists—including herself—to set boundaries, seek balance, and engage in their own self-care. “You can’t ask clients to prioritize their mental health if you're not doing the same,” she says.
Today, Nova Mental Health Services is growing faster than Tayler ever imagined. Years later, Nova MHS has become a thriving group practice known for its LGBTQI+ affirming, anti-racist, and neurodiversity-informed approach to therapy. While Tayler didn’t start with a formal five- or ten-year business plan, her vision is now crystal clear: to establish Nova MHS as a place known for inclusive, ethical, and culturally competent mental health care.
Her Cred:
Personal Credentials & Lived Experience
Professional Credentials & Clinical Expertise
- 🏳️🌈 LGBTQI+ Therapist: Tayler proudly identifies as Bisexual, and is also comfortable with the terms Pansexualand Queer. Her lived experience informs her affirming and inclusive approach to therapy.
- 🧠 Neurodivergent Clinician: Diagnosed with ADHD in adulthood, Tayler understands firsthand the challenges of being late-diagnosed, especially due to gender-biased diagnostic practices.
- 💬 Mental Health Advocate & Educator: Tayler is a recurring guest speaker at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), where she speaks in social work and mental health-related courses.
- 🌈 Affirming & Inclusive Care: Her personal and professional background supports her mission to provide LGBTQI+, neurodiversity-informed, and anti-oppressive mental health services.
- 🔍 Special Insight into Late-Diagnosed ADHD: Tayler brings awareness to the unique needs of women, AFAB individuals, and LGBTQ+ adults navigating late-in-life ADHD diagnoses.
- 🌟 Representation Matters: As both a queer and neurodivergent therapist, Tayler aims to foster a safe space for those often overlooked or misunderstood in traditional mental health systems.
Professional Credentials & Clinical Expertise
- 🎓 Bachelor of Science in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (2016), with a minor in Psychology.
- 🎓 Master’s Degree in Social Work from Aurora University (2017), with specializations in Medical Social Work and Clinical Social Work.
- 🏥 Completed 3,000 hours of post-master’s clinical training at Family Options Counseling in Brookfield, WI—focused on evidence-based, client-centered therapy practices.
- 📜 Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) since 2018, with credentials supporting independent mental health practice.
- 📚 Completed multiple NASW-approved continuing education trainings on LGBTQI+ affirming care, including:
- Ethical Considerations with LGBTQ Clients
- Understanding LGBTQ+ People, Their Culture, and How to Best Support Them
- Improving Equity: Working with Rural LGBT Individuals
- Coming Out, Coming Home: Helping Families Adjust to a Gay or Lesbian Child
- Culturally Competent Care of Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender Non-Conforming Clients for Cisgender Clinicians
- Transgender Advocacy (Cisgender Clinicians 102)
- Ethical Considerations with LGBTQ Clients
- 🧠 Created an original training on Neurodiversity Competency for Therapists, after identifying a lack of comprehensive clinical education in this area.
- 🔬 Conducted in-depth review of peer-reviewed research and clinical literature to inform her neurodiversity-affirming approach to therapy.
- 🗣️ Spent hundreds of hours in direct dialogue with Neurodivergent and LGBTQI+ individuals, learning how intersecting identities (race, religion, socioeconomic status) impact mental health and self-acceptance.
Her current presentations:
- Neurodiversity-Affirming and Informed Training
- Created as a way to teach ND to therapists on staff at NMHS.
- Can easily be adapted to educate parents, school staff, IOP & In Patient Mental Health Staff, community members, really anyone!
In the works:
If you are interested in any of these presentations, still reach out!
- Understanding Gender and being an ally
- Will include collaboration with someone within the trans/ non-binary community
- How to Support LGBTQI+ Youth
- How to start your own Private Practice
- For Mental Health Professionals and Students