About
My name is Angela Polcyn, and my path to counseling has been shaped by a deeply rooted calling to support individuals navigating life’s most profound transitions, losses, and challenges. Over the last 22 years, I have worked deeply within the healthcare system—including nearly a decade serving as a hospice bereavement coordinator. Standing with people during their most vulnerable, tender moments taught me everything I know about resilience, the weight of grief, and the undeniable strength of the human spirit.
Because life’s challenges are complex and rarely fit into a single box, I’ve dedicated my career to studying a wide range of fields to ensure I can truly meet you where you are. My professional background and degrees span:
- Clinical Mental Health
- Substance Abuse
- Psychology
- Theology
- Thanatology
Every single one of these chapters—both professional and personal—has led me right here to this space, and to you.
When we work together, you won’t just get an expert with a collection of degrees; you will get a fellow human being who genuinely listens without judgment. Whether you are navigating heavy grief, managing a difficult life transition, processing trauma, or simply trying to find your footing again, we will move forward at your pace.
You don’t have to carry it all alone. Whenever you are ready, I am here to listen.
Torch & Key Counseling
What's in a Name?
At Torch & Key, our name reflects exactly how we will navigate your therapeutic journey together. My practice is deeply rooted in a liberation and decolonial approach to mental health. This means we won’t just look at your struggles in isolation. Instead, we acknowledge that true healing requires looking at the bigger picture—untangling your identity from systemic pressures, cultural expectations, and historical conditioning so you can reclaim your truest self, your authentic self.
This philosophy is especially vital when it comes to holding space for complex trauma and deep grief. Trauma and loss can make you feel entirely disconnected, as if you are stranded in a dark, unfamiliar wilderness or caught between the world of who you used to be and the reality of who you are now. Traditional spaces often try to rush you through these landscapes or treat your pain as something to simply “fix.” Here, we understand that complex grief and trauma require a different kind of companionship—one that respects your pacing and honors the depth of what you carry.
Throughout history and mythology, the torch and the key have been the essential tools of pathfinders—the guides, seekers, and archetypes who braved the shadows and walked between worlds to discover hidden truths. In our work together, this symbolism comes alive as we navigate the heavy terrain of trauma and loss:
The Torch
The Torch represents illumination and steady warmth. When you are blinded by the fog of grief or stuck in the hypervigilant shadows of trauma, we use this light to gently explore your story. The torch helps us see that your responses are not "broken" reactions, but normal, protective survival strategies to abnormal, overwhelming events. It illuminates the invisible scripts that tell you how you should grieve or heal, and offers a choice to go your own way, giving us a clear path forward.
The Key
The Key symbolizes your inherent power of reclamation. Trauma and grief often lock us out of our own bodies, our choices, and our joy. The key is the tool we use to unlock those closed-off spaces, open doors to emotional freedom, and access the inner wisdom and resilience that have been suppressed or forgotten.
Healing from complex trauma and profound loss is a collaborative process of becoming your own pathfinder. By bridging the worlds of where you have been and where you want to go, we won’t just focus on managing day-to-day symptoms. Our ultimate goal is your liberation—breaking free from the cycles of pain and the structures that constrain you, so you can step boldly into a life of genuine autonomy, peace, and authenticity.
Approach
When we sit down together, you’ll quickly notice that my philosophy isn’t about sitting back with a clipboard and diagnosing you into a box. A liberation approach means our sessions feel like a collaborative partnership between two human beings. I don’t look at your anxiety, trauma, or grief as internal “flaws” you need to fix. Instead, we look at the bigger picture together. We explicitly name the external pressures—whether that’s systemic conditioning, rigid cultural expectations, or overwhelming family scripts—that are draining your energy. In our conversations, we shift the focus entirely away from “What is wrong with you?” and ground ourselves in a much gentler question: “What have you been carrying, and how can I help you put it down?”
In practice, this translates to care that is deeply intentional, unhurried, and holistic. Because heavy things like trauma and grief don’t just live in our thoughts—they physically live in our bodies and nervous systems—I don’t just rely on standard talk therapy. I bring in tools that care for your whole self. That might mean using somatic (body-centered) practices to help you release that tight, heavy feeling in your chest, or drawing from philosophy and meaning-making to process a profound loss. Everything I do is paced entirely by you. It’s a warm, conversational space where you are the expert on your own life, and I’m right there beside you, helping you unlock the freedom to live on your own terms.
