Buddhist Therapists in Rochester, WA

Crysalis is defined as a transitory state; a protective covering; a sheltered state or stage of being or growth. I am a Sherpa that can assist folks during various kinds of transitions. I promote a sense of security and a safe place as you sort through stressors and past traumas that prevent you from thriving and living a meaningful life. In our work together we will identify distressing emotions and process those through to fruition; notice potential thinking errors that are limiting your happiness and look for ways to increase your experiences of joy.

I believe that you already contain a deep power for healing inside. Together with kindness and curiosity, we will create a safe and accepting space where all aspects of you are welcome. Our journey will be one of shared exploration and discovery. I am here to guide and support you along the way. Our work will originate in the here and now—what is present in your life currently, learning to meet what shows up with care and compassion. I love counseling those in transition— be that career, gender, or otherwise and draw from feminist, existential, Buddhist, and somatic frameworks and work from a trauma-informed lens.

Even when we know that some of our emotional pain is unnecessary, on our own it can be difficult to figure out why the extra suffering and how to make it better. Anxiety, depression, trauma re-activation, relationship difficulties, and coping strategies are natural responses to life experiences and circumstances. Do they need to hurt so and are we stuck with them? Therapy is a great place to gain perspective on what you can change. Also, to widen the horizon from managing pain to living more fully like yourself and to thriving. Because, as Thich Nhat Hanh said, "suffering is not enough".

I want to help you find solace, clarity, and a sense of ease to the things in life that seldom make sense. Often this is asking big questions in the face of life's hardest curveballs. I will encourage meaningful and honest conversations about the things in life that are challenging for you to explore. Together, we will make a space to be able to give life to the words that are difficult to say out loud and help you grow in ways that feel useful to you. This can be a painful process and most often is worth it.

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 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 teens and adults who are struggling with life challenges including anxiety and depression, trauma and PTSD, relationship difficulties, and existential concerns. I am also comfortable working with spiritual concerns and experiences, and eco-grief and eco-anxiety. I view therapy as a voluntary engagement with a process of discovery and transformation. I seek to foster your natural curiosity about yourself and your life, and help you connect to the parts of yourself that have grown distant. Everyone's process is different, and I view my expertise as a supplement to your natural capacity for self-healing and growth.

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.

You've been in therapy before and your life has really improved, but something still lingers... that thing that you're worried will "never change." Perhaps you've struggled to feel served or represented by the majority of the current therapy industry because of your personal or political values. You're self-motivated and know how to engage in the work, and now you've delved into spiritual growth with curiosity and are looking to integrate that into therapy. You're not interested in identifying with a diagnosis, labels, or symptoms... you're on a quest to resolve a problem with the way you think and feel, so you can be WHOLE.

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.

Acknowledging that you might be in over your head isn't weak, it's wise. Have you tried calming techniques, but your anxiety still attacks you? Or relationships always seem to go sour or you never quite feel at ease even when everything's OK? Maybe it's time to look a little deeper. It's not that cutting off toxic people or upping your cardio won't help, because they probably will! But sometimes the wound goes deeper than that or the situation you're in is just too overwhelming to sort through on your own. When things like that go unaddressed, they sabotage even our best efforts at creating the life we want.

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.

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.

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.

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.

My practice is Buddhist psychotherapy which uses deep inquiry, self awareness and meditation. My goals for therapy are, first, to alleviate suffering and second to deal with symptoms. Then we can address personal growth and existential issues. Most of the work is done in the present moment and is little dependent on our past. The work usually goes quickly and very directly... but sometimes we need to go slow. A typical successful series might be 10-12 meetings. Spiritual matters are usually an important area of concern...What's really important? Is our behavior congruent with those values? So, tell me about that...

Creativity, parenthood, and other major life transitions - such experiences can evoke vulnerable, sometimes flooded states, highlighting our obstructions in the forms of worries, doubts, resentments and despair. Using tools informed by your personal dharma, a deeper understanding of your attachment style, and Buddhist practice, let's work together to bring understanding and self-compassion towards these obstructions in an effort to dissolve them in some lasting ways.

Are you going through a major life transition, such as a recent move to Seattle or a change in the status of your -or a loved one's-job, relationship, or health? Major transitions in life, whether seen as positive or negative, can stir up a lot of mixed emotions and bring up old issues from the past. I am experienced in helping people during times of confusion, grief and loss, depression and anxiety, and struggle with old traumatic injuries. I can help you find compassion, open insight, and create value and meaning from this time of transition.

My therapy practice is committed to helping people live happier, healthier, more joy filled lives. Every single moment of our lives can unfold in infinitely creative ways, yet sometimes our problems seem overwhelming, or we find ourselves repeating negative patterns and we can't see the solution. Are you suffering from anxiety or depression? Are you longing for emotional connection with those nearest to you? Does your life lack a sense of direction, meaning or purpose? Are you suffering a loss, going through a job or life transition?