Therapists in Enatai, Bellevue, WA

As your therapist, my goal is to provide you with a warm and welcoming environment where you are free to explore the areas of your life you wish to improve for holistic healing - physical, emotional, mental, relational, and spiritual. I offer a warm and empathetic environment as I use a person-centered approach that allows me to understand you through your own unique experiences and walk alongside you on this journey to achieve your personal goals. My primary focus is in child, individual, and couples/family counseling as well as working with neurodivergent populations using neurodiversity-affirming language and approach.

*CURRENTLY NOT ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS* A veteran of the U.S. Air Force and a former domestic violence advocate, I specialize in providing evidence-based psychotherapy and advocacy-based counseling for survivors of relationship abuse and other traumatic experiences. As a general practitioner, I also help with issues ranging from self-image, depression, and grief, to social and general anxiety, OCD, family conflict and divorce, religious shunning / transitions, adolescent and adult giftedness, nontraditional relationships, and matters of sexual orientation and gender identity (LGBTQ/non-binary affirming).

St Augustine once wrote “People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering.” Life asks a lot today. Our children need help with homework. Our jobs need us to produce more, our parents need us as age diminishes their abilities. After everything, one is left to wonder not at themselves, but at where all the time went?

Psychological wounds can leave us feeling broken, damaged, and disconnected from ourselves and the world around us. I work with individuals who struggle with relationships and intimacy and those who have lost a felt sense of meaning and purpose in their lives. The people I work with often struggle with anxiety, depression, low self-worth, or somatic issues. It’s important to me to provide a safe, non-judgmental space to explore the barriers that may be keeping you from your goals. I am here to support and guide you through the process of healing, while respecting that you that you are the expert on your life.

I work from the fundamental belief that all individuals have the capacity to effectively deal with any challenge in their lives given the right tools and support. I am passionate about strengthening people and relationships through the exploration of family and interpersonal dynamics. I help individuals, couples and families improve and understand their relationships by providing a safe and non-judgmental setting.

Life never goes the way we plan, especially during adolescence and young adulthood. It feels like you know everything yet as time goes by, you realize there is so much more to learn. Once you think you have it figured out, life happens and your path completely changes. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Washington State, I offer Individual Therapy to Adolescents and Young Adults. I support clients experiencing challenges with academics, socializing, communication, problem solving, and time management. We will work together to determine your strengths and how to help you move towards positive change.

Things look fine from the outside. In fact, you seem like you have it all together. You’ve always been responsible and independent. Your loved ones call you for advice or comfort. You're capable on the outside, crumbing on the inside. You feel stressed, sad, frustrated, and empty. You're lonely in spite of all your close relationships. You’re unsure who to turn to when you need a shoulder to cry on. You wonder if anyone really knows you. If you even know yourself. This is often the experience of women who grew up too quickly. Taking on adult responsibilities early in life leaves our inner child feeling lost and alone.

I have worked with a wide variety of clients, all of whom have been in different stages of change readiness. I work with all ages as young as 6 years of age to over 60 years of age. My clients struggle with a variety of issues including depression, anxiety, stress, PTSD, ADHD, relationship issues, grief and loss due to illness, injury, death and life transitions, as well as adjustments to positive transitions, such as job promotion, new business, or marriage. Whatever the issue we will work together to find the client's best solution.

When life and relationships begin to feel overwhelming and unsatisfying, I can assist you in identifying what changes need to be made to achieve the level of satisfaction that you are seeking to find passion in life again. Are you looking for change in your personal relationship with your partner? Using Gottman Method Therapy techniques, I help you stabilize through the turbulence, and reconnect. I assist clients interested in pre-marital therapy to build further commitment by having the necessary strengthening conversations. I'll help you find your personal strengths and maximize your natural potential.

Those people who find their way to my practice have a deep desire to move out of reactive patterns from the past. There is a longing for healthy relationship and fulfilling work with a willingness to do what it takes to have it. Many have had therapy in the past, are clear about their issues, yet still find that they are dragging the same issues into relationships today.

Do you feel stuck in your life and do not know how to move forward? Do you feel inadequate and find it difficult to find good in yourself and your life? Do you often try to please others while ignoring your own needs? Do you struggle to maintain intimate relationships? Do you sometimes feel confused and dissatisfied about yourself and want to know who you are and want to be? If any of these resonates with you, I may be your therapist.

In this first step, you have started on a path towards growth and healing. You may be struggling with feeling lost, disconnected to your self, going through big life changes, or just a general feeling of things not working quite right, and your regular strategies to cope are not working. Perhaps past experiences, patterns, or traumas are showing up in ways that are negatively impacting your relationships or mood. As a Certified EMDR therapist, I help my clients heal from past trauma and develop new ways of responding to current stress.

People often say (and studies show) the most healing aspect of therapy is feeling heard and understood by their therapist. I offer evidence-based treatments like DBT and RO-DBT along with mindfulness-based therapy and somatic awareness that focuses on your body's wisdom. In sessions clients often say they feel understood and more clear about how to proceed. My intent is to provide a safe, supportive, non-judgmental space for you to process what is going right and what areas you need to change or see things differently in your life. Therapy with me is insightful, mindfulness-based, and helps you move forward in your life.

Are you people pleasing, feel like an imposter, overwhelmed with stress, anxiety, and prioritizing everyone else's needs but your own? Are you looking for personalized support, a safe space to talk out your thoughts and feelings, gain perspective, and have accountability to improve your mood, relationships, and confidence?

I work with teens and adults struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, life transitions, and/or self-identity. I work with clients who struggle with overcontrolled coping, which includes perfectionism, rigid thinking, low emotional expression and emotional loneliness. I work with clients who struggle with undercontrol coping, which includes impulsivity, emotional dysregulation, and relationship challenges.

Anxiety has been a challenge for as long as you can remember. But, until recently, it's always been manageable. You've gotten through the tough times by talking with friends, doing yoga, or journaling. But lately, all those faithful coping strategies seem to fall short. You find yourself asking "Do I need therapy?" While you have always been an advocate of mental health care, it's intimidating to seriously consider seeking therapy for yourself. You have all sorts of questions and fears about starting down this path. If this is you, I might be your person.

As adults, we sometimes forget how tough it is to be a kid. Always being told what, when, and how to do things. The pursuit of autonomy can be a time of great frustration, while the pressures of school, social life, and planning for the future can sometimes feel insurmountable. My adolescent experience was no different. My way of coping was to set a rigid trajectory that left no room for self-exploration. This led me down the path to a career I did not enjoy. It was throughout the course of my own therapy that I learned the flexibility of the mind to acknowledge what wasn’t working and to give myself permission to change.

I am a licensed clinical psychologist with over 20 years of experience as a psychotherapist. Passion for my work, empathy, and excellence in clinical training (several years at University of Pennsylvania) allow me to provide effective, lasting results. I use an integrative, eclectic approach combining psychodynamic and interpersonal therapies to help adolescents and adults gain insight and work through varied life concerns. I see symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and relationship conflict as opportunities for change and personal growth.

Offering hybrid IN- PERSON/ VIRTUAL. I work with clients experiencing, mood disorders, anxiety, disordered eating and depression. RO-DBT is a proven framework for addressing these challenges and more (eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, perfectionism, self harm). In addition to RO-DBT, I work with adult couples using the Gottman Method. Other areas of work include, divorce, teen + adult grief/loss, and teen survivors of sexual assault. As a bi-racial counselor, I have a special lens of working with individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Also offering skills classes for teens with eating disorders.