Buddhist Therapists in Lakebay, WA

We each have the ability to adapt, overcome adversity, feel joy and sorrow, love, and reach our highest potential. Stressful life events, trauma, loss, conflicts, illness, and transitions can overwhelm our ability to cope. Healing becomes blocked. We become stuck. We protect and defend ourselves to avoid ever feeling that pain again. Solutions that once worked become part of the problem. When the traumatic wound is triggered, we experience intense emotion and distorted ways of thinking. In therapy, we journey together to uncover and remove the blocks to healing, transforming pain and loss into meaning, awareness, and choice.

Is anxiety, overwhelm & past trauma making you feel like the walls are caving in? You’ve done everything “right” in life, only to realize that hasn’t made life any easier. Maybe you are one of those high achievers who succeeds at everything or a people-pleaser terrified of confrontation. Either way – you feel out of control & ashamed because - why can’t you figure this mental health stuff out? On top of all this, you are at a time of great transition, change & growth. Learning to be an adult in a scary & unpredictable world can feel very lonely & crushing. Especially a world that can feel like it’s going off the rails.

My passion is to motivate, educate and support the deepest level of healing and highest level of achievement available to my clients, personally, professionally and in their relationships. I assist my clients in healing long standing issue as they move through difficult life circumstances with a deeper understanding and appreciation of themselves and others. Utilizing my training in fitness, holistic nutrition, & personal growth combined with over 20 years experience in mental health, I feel uniquely qualified to assist my clients in understanding and healing their "whole being". I'm licensed and have practices in WA and CA.

Something happens when we sit across from someone who really sees us, hears us, and accepts us unconditionally. The relationship has the power to lift us up, shift our perspective, and bring us comfort and clarity. I'd be honored to sit across from you with the warmth, humor, compassion and skill that will support the healing and growth you are seeking. You should know that I believe in you, I will challenge you, and we will process everything together until you realize, heal, and remember the strength you have to live the life you want for yourself.

Our lives are often impacted by forces beyond our control. We wonder if life will ever return to "normal." I work with young and old who encounter challenges common to modern living: Retirement, work stress, family dynamics, personal tragedy, financial troubles, loss of community, and loss of direction. I also address unique challenges associated with aging: Chronic and acute illness, life partner debilitation, and hardships unforeseen. Refocus and reclaim your strengths and life as we work together on insights, new strategies and skills that enable you to overcome obstacles, re-connect with life and your passions.

If you're an adult or teen in Washington state suffering from OCD, I would love to hear from you! I specialize in treating OCD, and I am especially skilled in treating “rumination as a compulsion”—mental compulsions that are not visible to anyone else. I offer Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP), Inference-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I-CBT), and Metacognitive Therapy (MCT), all of which are scientifically effective in treating OCD. I-CBT has been described as profound and a “game-changer.” This compassionate and effective psychotherapy has been changing lives in Canada and Europe for over 20 years.

Accepting Couples and Individuals at this time - Are you struggling with boundaries, expectations that are self-imposed, exhaustion and feeling "not enough"? If you are having difficulty navigating your relationships, parenting, life transitions - there is a way for you to orient back to yourself so you can make decisions from a place of clarity and find more connection and meaning in your life. Whether you're trying to connect better within or with others - It’s hard to remember who you are in when you are burning from both ends of the candle. Contact me to further your connection with your body, with others & relationships.

The moment we start to think "who am I," "why am I like this," or "is this the true version of who I am" are moments I consider to be breakthroughs. Moments of self-reflection can be difficult to understand, difficult to seek answers, and just the thought seems bizarre or confusing. At times it may not even be self-reflection. Instead, it is the feeling of guilt, shame, worthlessness, or insecurities. It can also show up as anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, somatic symptoms, interpersonal challenges, or strain in quality of life. This is the result of exposure to or experiences of neglect and abuse during our lifetime.

I love working with all different types of people wanting to change how they respond to life. My ideal clients want to learn how to respond to life, rather than react to life. The last four years have been hard and everyone can benefit from therapy. The couples I work best are seeking help with their sex life. A lot of couples I work with are also seeking help related to Polyamory/ENM and or Kink. I am happy to work with individuals, couples, and different and varying relationship designs and configurations.

I believe that every human being has uniqueness and potential to lead a satisfying life. I have continually sought personal growth and professional training to strengthen my capacity as a therapist. People experience results and growth in working with me, learn to cope with depression, resolve anxieties, improve intimate relationships, increase capacity for self control, develop effective parenting and better understanding of their children, overcome trauma like divorce or abuse, achieve better school performance, social skills, and find peace in their hearts.

As a psychologist, I seek to provide guidance in identifying strategies and solutions for tapping into your inner strengths and capacity for positive change. I have found that a positive therapeutic relationship serves an important role in accessing the resilience, insight, and courage needed to make important lifestyle changes that allow individuals and families to live happier, healthier, and more balanced lives. I approach the therapeutic relationship as a collaborative process where positive change occurs when we work together to identify strategies that will allow you to adaptively manage and overcome difficult life challenges. I strive to create a safe place by providing unconditional support.

Are you looking to recover from trauma, anxiety, self-doubt, self-criticism, and negative thought patterns? Are you unsure of where to start and feeling overwhelmed? Are you looking for someone to shed some light in areas you cannot yet see clearly for yourself and to help you create a roadmap from where you are to where you want to be? We can create goals and a plan for moving forward together. If you're ready to put in the work it takes to heal and prefer a collaborative approach to therapy wherein you are in charge but will have a caring guide to walk beside you, then we will be a great match.

So...the news isn't good. Anxiety, trauma, and stress are at all-time highs. Jobs that promised satisfaction fall short. And then you go and surprise yourself with a drinking problem, depression, or overwhelming burnout. You might work in a demanding field, like medicine, tech, or finance. There's been a HUGE amount of normalization for mental health issues recently. And while that's been all to the good, you still need help sorting through things: why do I keep finding myself in the same place, over and over again? Or...how did I end up in this unknown place, and do I even want to be here? TikTok isn't cutting it.

I help people develop resources to work more mindfully with impermanence. Aging, illness, death, identity transitions, relationships – all bring us face to face with fear, anxiety, and insecurity. The courage and wisdom to live through change and loss become possible with a clear, steady commitment to loving oneself and others. I work with my clients to become curious, have a sense of humor, feel grace, cultivate friendships, and embody kindness in order to access joy in the everyday moments of life, even with life's many challenges.

We live in an overly stimulated world even while hiding from a virus, with constant choices regarding how we spend our time and energy and procure our needs. The amount of content we engage with daily has most people overloaded and unfocused. Which means, most of the time, we are not truly listened to or seen. For some, stepping into therapy is the first time they have experienced being heard and seen, wholly, genuinely, and comprehensively. The initial experience of being heard, can have a profound effect on one’s life. That is where we will begin. In a space with presence, non-judgmental empathic listening, and acceptance.

I welcome people who are facing any number of challenges including life transitions such as divorce, job loss, illness, death of a loved one; all shifting the ground beneath us in dramatic ways. What worked no longer works. My trMy training as a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher complements training and practice in psychotherapy addressing a dysregulated emotion system resulting in various symptoms such as anxiety, panic, depression, and identity disturbance and sometimes even a desire to die or hurt oneself. There can be a painful sense of isolation and feeling unmoored. There is a way out; first understanding, then tools to heal.

I work with young, midlife, and elderly adults in all phases of life transition, whose lives have brought them to a place where they want support to work through difficult, stuck, or critical times. What often appears problematic is evidence of a solution trying to happen. I see this as an organic process which can come with disturbance, frustration, over-stimulation and/or depression. What you sometimes can't see by yourself, you can see, navigate, and resolve with the help of another. My approach is to join my clients in their quest for resolution, meaning, and happiness.

You’re looking for relief and real change. It may appear like you have it all together, but on the inside you feel doubtful, burdened, unfulfilled, and stressed. Maybe you’re caught between different cultures, struggling with your identity and finding your place in the world. You might be carrying the trauma of your past or family history and seeing the impacts at work, home, and in your body and relationships. Maybe you're deeply worried about the state of the world and don't know how to move forward meaningfully. Even in your free time, you may find it difficult to truly relax and rest, your sense of pleasure and purpose depleted.

I specialize in helping couples, families, and men deal more effectively with their emotions and difficulties in their important relationships. I also offer executive coaching and support for leadership development and proactive personal growth. My style is warm, interactive, holistic and direct, and the strength of my approach rests on forging a genuine and trusting working relationship so that you can feel comfortable in getting real about what's happening with you. As your sense of trust and readiness deepens, we'll take stock of what changes are needed and find personal, realistic and creative ways to help you move forward.