Denise Santangelo may be petite in stature, but she’s impossible to miss. Whether she’s sporting sky-high heels, donning her signature cowboy hat, or wearing a Rubik’s Cube dress (she learned to solve the puzzle in her 40s), the founder of SpireTHERAPY radiates warmth, energy, and compassion.
A former litigator in New York City, Denise pivoted careers in the late 2010s, hoping to bring more meaning to her life.
“I wanted to do something that gave back to humanity,” she tells us.
That instinct to give back—and go all in—is at the heart of SpireTHERAPY, the mental health practice Denise founded in 2019.
“Spire means highest point—it symbolizes elevation,” she explains. “So the name reflects how we help individuals and families rise to their highest potential.”
In her personal life, no one has helped Denise reach her potential more than her husband, Rich Rodriguez. The two were study partners in law school and married nearly 20 years ago, just before graduating and studying for the Bar Exam. He later encouraged her to pursue her dream—and even came up with the name “Spire.”
“My husband and our children, Blake and Declan, are my foundation and inspiration,” Denise says. “Rich is my everything—from Spire’s General Counsel to COO to the implementer. I bring the vision, he refines it into a viable plan, and together we make it a reality. Without the three of them, SpireTHERAPY would not be what it is today.”
What began as a one-woman show has evolved into a practice with six clinicians, an executive assistant and social media director, two locations (Ridgefield and Westport), and a growing number of specialty programs—including an after-school ADHD program. Still, at its core, Spire’s mission remains the same: to lift the entire family unit.
“My quirky side—the cowboy hat, the fun clothes—I bring that energy into every session. Sometimes I forget my own age. I really believe you’re only as old as you feel, and I feel young, happy, and energetic. Kids respond to that—because that’s who they are. And I think adults crave it. If they had more of that lightness in their daily lives, they might not get so caught up in things that don’t really matter.”
When Denise first started Spire, she noticed something.
“Kids would come in and say, ‘I’ve done therapy before—but my mom would come in at the beginning of the session, so I didn’t really say anything because I knew it wasn’t private.’ There was no autonomy.”
The Spire approach uses Denise’s patented SpireMETHOD, which is both singular and multifaceted. It supports the child, equips the parent, and bridges the two in a way that fosters growth for everyone. Parents receive regular updates and are fully involved—with Denise acting as a liaison and providing expert parent coaching and support.
“I work with the parents to help them craft the instructions their kiddos weren’t born with!” And kids know Spire is a safe place to open up.
Many of Spire’s clients are kids navigating emotional regulation issues, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and all the challenges associated with puberty—while their parents are simultaneously managing perimenopause, menopause, aging parents, and their own shifting identities.
“It can feel like everything is unraveling all at once. We aim to support the entire family through these transitions,” Denise says. “Kids receive one-on-one therapy focused on distress tolerance, emotional regulation, interpersonal skill-building, self-confidence work, mindfulness—all while growing their own self-awareness for sustained growth. At the same time, we give parents the tools to regulate themselves, recognize their own patterns, and shift generational dynamics. Everyone gets confidential support, and we collaborate when needed so the whole family can grow—and lift—together.”
Through this unique approach—and word-of-mouth in a post-COVID world—Spire grew. And grew.
“I hated when a parent would call and tell me how difficult their situation was and I had to say, ‘Sorry, you're on a waitlist.’ So I started writing everything I was doing down, and that became the SpireMETHOD. I found that if I could create a curriculum, a program, then I could train someone else to use it and replicate what I was doing in my therapy room in the one next to me. It allowed me to grow with the right people and the right method—so I’d never have to turn a family away or make them wait.”
Spire recently opened a second location in Westport. This serves as the hub for SpirED—Thrive After 3 (more on that in a bit)—and has an office for individual sessions, too.
The Spire staff runs the gamut from warm and fuzzy to direct and candid. Clinicians include Denise, Casey Lowth (who also serves as Chief of Staff), Christie Boysan Ippolito, Jennifer Perez, Rachel Licamele, and Claudia Pomponi. Alyssa Mondia is Denise’s Executive Assistant and Social Media Director, while Rich Rodriguez handles all the operations and legal questions as the GC and COO.
Each clinician follows Denise’s curriculum, focusing on building emotional awareness, distress tolerance, executive functioning, and impulse control, while reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and ADHD. Therapy is tailored to each client’s needs, and for younger children, it often incorporates art, music, bibliotherapy, and play.
“Children process, learn skills, and talk to you through play. Whether it’s art, games, or music, kids are using modalities that are more than just words.”
In addition to one-on-one therapy, Spire offers small group Workshops, providing a safe, supportive environment for elementary, middle, and high school students navigating anxiety, depression, self-esteem issues, impulse control, and executive functioning challenges. These groups blend peer connection with evidence-based strategies like CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and solution-focused techniques. Virtual companion workshops for parents reinforce these skills at home.
As the Workshops gained traction, Denise noticed that those focused on impulse control and executive functioning were consistently full.
“I didn’t call them ADHD groups because not everyone had a diagnosis. But when I saw how many kids were attending, I realized there was a bigger need in the community—both for the kids and their families.”
Enter: Thrive After 3. Part of SpirED (ED for Spire Therapy’s EDucation series), Thrive After 3 offers ADHD therapy, coaching, and support in a fun, engaging, and structured setting. Open to students in grades 1–12, the program runs in 3- or 6-month cycles with rolling enrollment. Kindergarteners receive support through the one-on-one therapy program.
“We’re able to offer the best of both worlds: the individualized depth of one-on-one therapy and the group dynamic of the Workshops—all in one place,” Denise says.
Using the SpireMETHOD, Thrive After 3 helps kids harness the strengths of ADHD—creativity, energy, hyper-focus—while building essential tools for emotional regulation, executive functioning, and task management.
“We want to enhance all of the amazing parts of their ADHD while helping them hone the parts that can get away from them if they’re not in control. Our goal is to help kids thrive not just in school, but in life. We don’t blunt what makes ADHD amazing—we build on it.”
Today, Spire is truly a multifaceted operation: SpireTHERAPY, SpirED (Workshops + Thrive After 3), Dynamical Neurofeedback (especially helpful for ADHD), and the soon-to-launch SpireBALL (a community wiffle ball league for all ages!), plus two podcasts—The Spired Podcast and Legal Fate and Mental State—and a growing online presence on Instagram (@SpireTHERAPYCT) and YouTube (@SelfSPIRED).
“The Spired Podcast will be special; it’s about going through the things we all go through—but learning how to do it better,” Denise says. “There will be a big focus on ADHD, but also on anxiety, depression, and mindset shifting. It’s about helping people move forward with strength, confidence, and balance.”
On Legal Fate and Mental State, Denise brings her mental health expertise while Rich weighs in as the resident attorney.
“We dive into today’s hottest criminal court cases with sharp insight and zero fluff—think legal tea, served raw,” she says.
SpireBALL, meanwhile, was born from the family’s love of wiffle ball. At home, they’ve built a full field with official specs, foul poles, a scoreboard, and rollaway lights for nighttime games.
“I want to create a fun sports league that doesn’t require you to be particularly sporty—you just need to be interested in fun, movement, and hanging with family and friends,” she says. “There are so many levels of good, clean fun, and I just want to bring that to our amazing community. The goal is to offer these games later than usual, under the lights, so kids have more to do after hours—and parents can cheer them on into the night!”
Though SpireTHERAPY is private pay, the team works closely with families on out-of-network reimbursement. Denise has spent years crafting a comprehensive “Super Bill” that can be uploaded to insurance portals to help offset costs. Workshops are reimbursable, and she’s actively working to secure the same for Thrive After 3. In some cases, families have even secured in-network waivers due to Spire’s unique curriculum-based services.
Denise’s enthusiasm, excitement, and energy know no bounds—and have no boundaries.
Rich laughs, telling us how, recently, “She shook me awake at 2 a.m., eyes wild with another truly brilliant idea to help kids embrace their true selves. I blinked, smiled, and said, ‘Fantastic! Now kindly write it down and let’s revisit after coffee—and sunrise.’”
Recently, Denise saw a photo of herself with a group of friends from high school. She was wearing JNCO jeans and a Bug Girl t-shirt—while her friends were more conservatively dressed in khakis and polos.
“It never occurred to me at the time how stylistically different I was from my friends. I never felt different—I was just being myself. And that’s what I try to help my clients do: be fully, unapologetically themselves. My goal is to help kids and families be their true selves—with the good and not-so-good all mixed together. Balance is the key to success, and I want to bring that everywhere.”
SpireTHERAPY is more than a practice—it’s a mission to bring effective, compassionate care that grows with the community.
Denise also serves as Chair of the Ridgefield Prevention Council, where she brings the heart of SpireTHERAPY into the community. Her mission, she tells us, is to spark real conversations and create events that get families fired up about mental health—not just as a response, but as a tool for preventing destructive decisions before they start.
SpireTHERAPY is located in Ridgefield at 415 Main Street and in Westport at 205 Main Street.
Visit spireTHERAPY.com to learn more and follow along on Instagram @SpireTHERAPYCT.
I really believe you’re only as old as you feel, and I feel young, happy, and energetic. Kids respond to that—because that’s who they are.