Therapists in 98104

I have been honored that people have felt comfortable and safe enough in sessions to discuss their most private experiences and thoughts. People often come to see me because they're struggling to keep up with their obligations between family, career, friends, and their own self care. The frustrations sour feelings toward work and relationships. Loved ones start to notice that your temperament is not the same - you're crankier or more aloof. You may feel lonely and disconnected. Sometimes you don't even know what got you upset in the first place.

Everyone deserves to do better than just getting by, but sometimes life can throw us for a loop. Whether you have experienced mental health challenges for years or are faced with new anxieties, or even if you’re just living through a pandemic, I would be honored to help get you back on track. I am passionate about working with both children and adults. While only the kids usually get to fingerpaint, my philosophy of counseling is the same with everyone. My job is to learn about your strengths, and help you use them to work toward your goals. I want everyone to find their sense of power and agency in the world.

I view therapy as an opportunity to recognize the strengths of each person, the uniqueness of each story, and to find ways to use those strengths to create change and growth. I enjoy having the chance to walk alongside people through all types of challenges and triumphs as a willing listener who can provide empathy, a non-judgmental view on current and past experiences, and support to work towards meeting goals.

I assist clients in building skills and acquiring tools to align their life with their values and vision. I help clients identify their own strengths and wisdom to effectively face life's challenges, achieve goals and create lasting changes. I consider the social and cultural factors that impact each person's ways of being, how they are treated in this world, and how they adapt to difficult experiences. I offer a collaborative, non-judgmental, creative and hopeful space that is conducive to self-exploration and transformation.

For 25 years I worked with over 16,000 suicidal patients on the mental health unit of St. Francis Hospital with my office partner, Psychiatrist Dr. Sunida Bintasan, From observing their common patterns, I created an educational program (for persons with issues of deep despair, hopelessness, depression, feeling "LOST" & "TRAPPED" & "STUCK", and often with recurrent suicidal thinking) called Contextual-Conceptual Therapy (CCT). Combining expressive arts techniques, education, and therapy using "maps, models, & metaphors", it helps clients discover the roots of their deep despair, feeling trapped & lost, and/or suicidal thinking.

My practice is limited to working with adults on the spectrum.

However you have come to find yourself pursuing therapy, welcome. Being human beings on this earth is a complicated thing, it is a chaotic time to be living life, and you are worthy of finding some space for care and support as you navigate through how to be a human.

Accepting new clients- immediate availability! Telehealth available in WA, OR, UT, AZ, CO, MA, DC. Moving through a painful transition? Want to make changes in your life? Need to figure out where to go from here and how to get there? Have you ever wondered what experiences in your life impact you the most and how to heal? I'd love to join you on your journey. From navigating big transitions, healing deep hurts to growing into your most meaningful dreams, I’m here to support you with warmth, compassion, and genuineness as well as a decade of experience and specialty training. Trauma informed approach - no problem is too big or small.

We are asked at a young age to make life-defining adult choices with little to no support. In most cases, we hodgepodge together a plan, attempt to prepare ourselves the best way we know and set forth on a very unpredictable journey. Some choose the school route, often borrowing large sums of money too surmountable to focus on without suffering undue strain. Once you have signed the check, you are asked what academic byway you want to travel. The classes and tests happen, and you are standing in line for graduation, looking back, astonished that you made it this far. That's when they ask you, "What's next?

The clients I do my best work with are ones who want to work on their relationships. Whether it’s your relationship with yourself, your partner, or your baby, I know how to help foster connection, safety, and unconditional love. I specialize in working with couples and individuals in the perinatal period. I love working with all couples in conflict, couples deciding if they want to stay together or not, and premarital counseling. I also help individuals who want to work on self compassion and kindness, individuals who want to practice setting boundaries, and individuals who struggle with setting high expectations of themselves.

I enjoy working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds and concerns. Are you experiencing depression, anxiety, life stressors, work or relationship dissatisfaction, grief, the impact from trauma, trouble adjusting to life transitions or illness, sleep problems, OCD, phobias, substance use issues or some other problem? I want to help you reach your optimal health, which may include both mental and physical health goals. I know it can be difficult to share such personal experiences with a new person, so it’s important to me to create a trusting bond to work on your concerns.

My path to the study of nutrition and counseling began in 2008 when my doctor helped me realize the connection between my mood and my choices in food. She suggested a dietary shift that changed my life. After many years of study and clinical work I've learned many other ways to help the brain and body through nutrition and counseling. From 2012-2014 I worked as an intern therapist at Seattle Counseling Service where I taught an ongoing Food & Mood group. Since then I have worked in private practice helping people with food and mental health issues.

Although our lives are becoming increasingly more complex, our needs remain the same: rewarding relationships, satisfying work, and meaningful interests. I think of my work with clients as helping to identify barriers to these needs and developing effective ways to grow and heal. I work with individuals who are struggling with depression, life transitions, anxiety, and relationship difficulties.

My practice leans toward working with clients who are living with the effects of trauma, struggling with anxiety, and/or those who are searching for a life with more meaning and purpose. For trauma survivors, areas of focus include: understanding what healing can mean for you, integrating nervous system relaxation techniques, improving relationships – with self and others, decreasing that inner critic, managing emotional flashbacks, incorporating self-compassion, and integrating self-healing resources. If you are living with anxiety or are hoping to create an emotionally balanced life, my primary platform is mindfulness.

Are you experiencing emotional or mental distress making it difficult to feel comfortable in your own skin? Do you feel you are having to navigate spaces and/or relationships where you do not feel safe or at ease? When it is difficult to maintain a healthy mental space in our lives, it can impede our ability to make sound choices for ourselves. Are you finding it difficult to focus on and attend to the aspects of your life that you find important?  Oftentimes, we can feel depleted of the energy or willingness to take the necessary steps in order to make/sustain positive changes in our life.

The greatest and most freeing gifts you can give yourself are self-exploration and compassion. Together, we can work collaboratively to further develop these tools, uncover new ones, and foster your innate resilience. My goal is for you to feel safe, challenged, and empowered during our time together. The sheer fact that you are seeking assistance, demonstrates both strength and courage. I aim to create a non-judgmental, secure, and open-minded environment for clients to explore the entirety of their feelings. We will work together to problem-solve, create lasting change, and develop techniques to help overcome barriers in life.

Welcome! Reaching out for help can feel difficult. The stress of everyday life- work, school, family, finances, relationships, etc. can feel difficult to manage. I find it is important to build a strong therapeutic relationship built upon trust, empathy, and compassion. I am here to offer an inclusive, non-judgmental, safe space where you feel comfortable to explore areas of your life that feel complex or troubling.