These days, we're all huddling under COVID's shadow of uncertainty. You may be feeling frustrated, overwhelmed, and less tolerant than 'before'. You didn't used to feel so disorganized, disoriented, and discouraged in pre-virus days. Perhaps some symptom you'd forgotten about or pushed aside feels newly offensive. I am a psychoanalytic therapist and my ideal client is ready, curious, persistent, possibly angry, sad, and frightened, but willing to wonder with me about the mind's mysteries and its capacities to tilt, stymie, support, inspire, and surprise you. Is the unconscious friend or foe? Might now be a time to investigate?

I am a licensed psychotherapist in the state of Washington. I work with adults, couples and teens who are at a place in their life where they are wanting or needing to make a change, but sometimes not sure how to go about it. My approach encourages clients to take responsibility for their lives but also helps to uncover what obstacles have gotten in the way of them feeling powerful, happy, and in charge of their direction in life.

I specialize in helping men and women overcome debilitating anxiety, depression, and developmental trauma. I also work with individuals struggling with infertility, feeling secure during pregnancy and postpartum, and working through the challenges that come up with parenting. I'm interested in coming to know you, your hopes and dreams, and the obstacles that keep getting in the way. I believe in the innate capacity to heal and the growth that comes from exploring what hurts in a caring relationship.

I see adults and teenagers who are struggling with social issues, adjusting to new environments, family conflicts, experiencing a crisis, or just going through a tough time. I specialize in helping people explore and work through issues and questions around gender and sexuality. I work with people to help them to heal and gain a better understanding of themselves and their lives.

As a board-certified psychoanalyst social worker, I help individuals work through depression and anxiety, traumas, personality disorders, and general problems in living. The conflicts or stuck feelings that bring a person to therapy tell us about internal experiences that need to be acknowledged and understood. Our problems are often the result of patterns of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that can be addressed in therapy.

I work with adults who come to therapy with a variety of concerns, including but not limited to: depression, anxiety, trauma and PTSD, problems with relationships, sexual trauma, family-of-origin issues, struggles with self-esteem, inhibitions and fears, childhood trauma, phobias, social anxieties, and separation issues. I work with individuals in both short- and long-term therapy, meeting varying frequencies, depending upon the goals of therapy.

It's no small thing to ask for help. At whatever pace feels comfortable we'll look at your situation and try to sort out what might be keeping you from the kind of life you want. Together we'll map out short and longer-term goals, developing tools to help you cope with things that right now might feel too big to handle. I strive to create a safe place to be curious about what things in your life are working and what things may need to change.

It can be difficult to start therapy, especially during this unprecedented pandemic. Often coupled with a desire for change can be confusion, frustration, or feeling stuck, with little idea what to do next. Whatever your reasons, this is an honest place to be, and making the decision to start therapy is a courageous one. It can help to speak with someone that can gently guide you. I provide a space that is warm and compassionate, where you are accepted as you are. I view therapy as a space to become more aware of yourself, your relationships, and your life experience.

I am a licensed psychologist with 20 years experience providing psychotherapy and consultation. My approach is gentle, respectful and compassionate, including challenge and encouragement as appropriate. I offer short-term and long-term psychotherapy, emphasizing the development of a warm, empathic therapeutic relationship. My treatment approach is integrative and most influenced by psychoanalytic, humanistic and developmental theories. Psychotherapy involves verbalizing your thoughts and feelings, exploring relational and behavioral patterns, and understanding how past experiences may impact you now. The needs and goals of the individual guide my therapeutic approach. My personal style is down-to-earth and interactive, with an occasional dash of humor.

Psychotherapy is meant to address the roots of mental and emotional struggle, rather than just symptoms. In my practice, we can explore your strengths and challenges, discovering over time what motivates you, what may be contributing to your difficulties, and what helps you thrive. You will have the opportunity to get to know yourself and find ways of living that feel satisfying and fulfilling. My approach is intended to help create more room for your experience and navigate your thoughts and feelings with understanding, compassion, and skill.

Having difficulty finding a therapist of color who understands your experience? I understand your struggle. As an African American male, I too had trouble finding a therapist of my own. Being a person of color in our society comes with its own unique experience, along with the everyday struggles and challenges we all face. It’s difficult and frustrating to have to explain this unique experience to someone before you can even address your reason for being there. But you continue searching because you know you need someone who understands your experience and can help you with life’s struggles.

Consider this an open invitation, to join together in authentic dialogue, to get real. I offer you the confidence of my experience, and the warmth of my compassion, my courage and my strength as an ally. I offer honesty, simplicity and safety. I encourage you to stand tall, and to claim and truly own this life, to direct this journey, to master your particular (or peculiar) style, and to express the beauty of a life that you desire.

Working together we can help you with what gets you into trouble, being stuck, a loss, difficulties in a relationship, and achieving your goals. If you are a parent, we will work together to reestablish optimal development and family functioning. Therapy works in many ways. It helps us surrender unhelpful ways of protecting ourselves, learn how to be increasingly self-reflective, develop greater capacities to repair ourselves and our relationships, and augment resilience and happiness. I believe that the deepest understanding and change comes from knowing oneself better, becoming increasingly self-reflective, and experiencing oneself differently in the context of a relationship.

Mindfulness and self-awareness are the key elements of the work I do. I work with adults and teens. We determine together the treatment modalities that would best serve. I am well-versed in holistic and more medical approaches and use a broad range of therapeutic models to help clients experience more health and well-being in their lives. Cognitive-behavioral, emotion-focused, narrative, solution-focused and existential therapies are some of the clinical techniques used in my practice.

Are you overwhelmed? Struggling with anxiety, depression or grief? That life is too hard? Consistently frustrated that things you want don't happen? I'm here to help you untangle those stressors, so you can move forward into the life you deserve. Together we'll take an in-depth look at causes and triggers to find solutions that are logical and practical.

As a dual diagnosis/co-occurring psychotherapist, (licensed mental health counselor and licensed substance use disorder professional) my goal is to help you uncover your true potential and lead a life that is worth celebrating. While we can't change difficult situations of the past, we can work together to better understand and resolve challenges. By applying specific therapeutic approaches and techniques, we will unearth long-standing behavior patterns or negative perceptions that may be holding you back from experiencing a more fulfilling and meaningful life and incorporate healthy coping skills.

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and Licensed Social Worker in Mukilteo, WA. I work extensively with problems related to stress, anxiety, and depression. I will collaborate with you to identify and create achievable and meaningful goals to improve your quality of life. I believe in the power of a strong therapeutic relationship. I am flexible and able to work with individuals at their own pace.

I have a passion for the transformative capabilities of the therapeutic relationship. I specialize in utilizing mindfulness techniques to help my clients connect to their own innate ability to heal and grow. I have experience with and enjoy working with diverse clients from many different backgrounds facing all kinds of challenges and believe in the client’s role as the expert in their life and experiences. Consideration of intersecting identities and social justice are paramount in my treatment planning and I welcome the opportunity to support clients who have challenges around these issues.

I am a licensed clinical psychologist working with adults in individual therapy through a relational and psychodynamic approach. These modalities hold that the past informs the present, often setting the template for unconscious patterns of thought, behavior, and relating to others that impact our current relationships, as well as our ability to be productive and fulfilled. Developing deeper understanding about the nature of our problems within the context of an empathic, collaborative therapeutic relationship can lead to increased intellectual and emotional flexibility, healthier relationships, and richer, more satisfying lives.