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Wil Vargas, MSW, LCSW

Photo of Wilhelmina

Title: Community Based Counselor
Education: Rutgers BA DC’06, MSW ‘09
Pronouns: Siya/They

Wil is a licensed clinical social worker and the embedded Community Based Counselor for The Center for Social Justice & LGBTQ Communities (SJE) and Douglass Residential College (DRC). They are passionate about providing affirming clinical services that re/empower historically marginalized identities including BIPOC, women-identified, first-generation, immigrant, third-cultured, living with disabilities, recovering, and especially BIPOC college students who identify at the intersections of the affectional and gender-diverse (AGD or 2SLGBTQIAP+) continuum. Since onboarding, they’ve been a charter member of RSH Transcare/Gender & Sexuality Consult team that develops and provides best practice services to our orientation- and gender-expansive students, the Health and Wellness Committee, and Exercise is Medicine.

Wil is a descendant of the Philippine diaspora who uses siya/they pronouns. “Siya” (pronounced sha), is the gender-neutral pronoun the over 3000 year old Tagalog language used for all individuals regardless of how one is assigned at birth. As a Rutgers double graduate, they support holistic, decolonial, and liberatory healing that follows the needs of the person, groups, and communities served. Their advocacy and collaborations consist of offering person- and community first, racial trauma-informed, affirming, and recovery-oriented therapeutic guidance in alignment with world Indigenous values and BIPOC AGD best clinical practices. Siya believes in a sustainable wellness approach that addresses the mind, body, and spirit in order to live a more balanced, healthier, and meaningful life. Wil’s practice philosophy is rooted in various traditional and evidence-based modalities that are complementary to Integral Yoga, Reiki, mindfulness practices, meditation in movement through rock-climbing, and other physical and creative activities. Otherwise, they enjoy being in nature, reading, writing, and will occasionally guide folx through crafty projects.