Instructors: 

Shirin is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor, as well as certified meditation instructor. She has experience helping people with a wide variety of mental health concerns & approaches mental health from a unique intersectional perspective. Shirin prides herself in providing a warm & stigma free environment for all, LGBTQIA+ affirming & body positive. Shirin founded Rising Tide Counseling and Consulting, a private practice in Lakewood, Ohio in 2019. Believing there is strong relationship between the power of art & counseling, she chose to open her space in the Screw Factory and holds that an unconventional therapy space can lead to an unconventional approach. Shirin also works nationally with Mental Health First Aid and is a strong advocate for stigma reduction of mental health and substance use disorders.

Brandi Larsen is a writer, speaker, and coach who connects creative people to each other. She hosts The Finishers’ Club retreats for women to finish their creative projects, creates writing group matchmaking events, and shares how the book publishing process works. Her publishing expertise helped create New York Times bestsellers, her journalism accomplishments received Emmy nominations, and her chutzpah propelled her to persist in spite of the impossible. She’s spoken at Harvard Business School, Book Expo America, Case Western Reserve University, and the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference, among others. Her work has been published in newspapers and magazines, literary journals, textbooks, industry guidelines, and, of course, online.