Therapists in Skagit County, WA

Are you looking for attuned support to explore your struggles? Do you wish to become mindful of how your life history impacts your present experience? Are you interested in intuitive and spiritual practices, and holistic supports (including food, herbs)? If these questions resonate with you, reach out to me! I offer relationship-focused therapy, drawing from wisdom traditions and holistic approaches.

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 graduated from a M.S. mental health counseling program at Eastern Washington University in 1995, got certified and ran a private practice in Seattle from 1995 through 2003. I worked in an outpatient community clinic, an inpatient psychiatric hospital, at retreat centers, and at a college counseling center until starting work on a PhD in Religious Studies and Psychology. I worked, studied, and lived in Europe, East Asia, and Africa before teaching 10 years at San Jose State University, so I am comfortable and confident working with very different sorts of people and I want everyone and anyone to feel welcome and at ease in my care.

I work primarily with individuals who feel bound in aversion toward themselves. Whether concerns manifest as self-hatred, shame, relational difficulties, terminal regret, questions around spirituality, depression, anxiety, or in any number of other ways, I wholeheartedly trust there is more to the story than meets the eye. I support our exploration by opening a receptive and creative space for truths that might not feel at home elsewhere. As we shift painful thought patterns out of isolation and into dialogue between two minds, new and surprising truths emerge. These can form the basis for new peace and possibilities.

I have a waitlist for individuals ages 18 to 100 for psychotherapy, currently via video/telehealth. I expect to be able to accept new clients after July 1, 2024. I excel in supporting clients with complex trauma, attachment wounds, grief, loss, adjustment, depression, anxiety, and identity issues. I work best with clients who are open to exploring their emotions, embracing both laughter and tears, engaging in meaningful conversations, and delving deep within to gain self-understanding and valuable insights.

Good Grief. Life’s unpredictability, traumatic experiences, loss and difficult relationships can leave us feeling confused, stuck, anxious, depressed even…hopeless. As a relational therapist, my purpose is to move with you, through your pain, discovering together how the grief you are experiencing might be the "good grief" moving you towards wholeness & growth. If the entire human project is the process of transforming our suffering into meaning, then this is your brave journey. You are unique. Your agonies are unique. Your life story and your longings are unique. Yet, you are not alone. Let's meet the work of discovery...together.

My approach is holistic and humanistic in nature, meeting you where you're at and building a trusting relationship so that we can do powerful work together. My client focus is adults who are want to explore and heal from complex trauma; individuals working through a major life stressor such as college, relationship changes, career stagnation, and empty nesting; and those drawn to self-discovery and self-growth. I am here to support you in on your path. I am here to listen compassionately and offer you tools that cultivate exploration, discovery, and healing.

Are you creative? In transition? Depressed? Different? Parenting? Re-discovering YOU? Are you wanting to make changes in your life or to heal from old wounds? Do you want to develop self-compassion? Do you want to learn how to be present for your life, to learn mindfulness to help you through the tough times? If so, let’s see if we can create a compassionate, interactive and authentic therapeutic relationship to work collaboratively towards healing. In therapy, I can help you identify your goals, look at what is and isn't working for you, explore your stories, emotions, and experiences (past and present), develop new skills, and embrace your learning styles and talents. I also provide consultation and supervision to therapists.

During our lives, we encounter experiences that can move us away from a direct connection to ourselves. Influences from family, friends, peers, jobs, and the greater culture can affect how we view and express ourselves. We can become conditioned to thinking, feeling and behaving in a way that is incompatible with who we really are and what we want in our lives. This compromises our ability to value our unique identity and to express and apply ourselves, and our strengths. I will help you to identify, understand and remove barriers that are keeping you from realizing your fullest potential. I offer Telehealth only in California.

Welcome. Are you looking for more joy and better relationships? My training has taught me to help people examine and describe the life they have, identifying areas in which they are "stuck," and reconnect to the life-goals that motivated them. Sometimes this stuckness has to do with certain feelings, sometimes it is about past traumas, often it shows up as repeating patterns in significant relationships, and sometimes it manifests as a malaise in which a direction in life seems impossible to find.

My counseling approach is to first help you clarify your presenting problems from an integrated mind-body-spirit-environment perspective. I utilize mindfulness to help you to develop clarity in the present moment, and with depth psychology, psychodynamic, EMDR, art therapy, Jungian psychology, and focusing-oriented psychotherapy to help you explore and embrace your, SELF, inner wisdom, and unconscious awareness for healing. Through processing unhealed wounds in the past, we can unveil the authentic SELF, and finding life meanings to journey on.

Therapy provides a space to process and reclaim experiences, thoughts, and emotions that may have felt stuck or weighed down by the pressures of our surroundings, cultural practices, and deep-seated personal beliefs. These barriers may be reflected in your family relationships, experiences of trauma and loss, and interactions with institutional forces. As a narrative-centered therapist, I will provide a supportive environment for you to deepen your understanding of yourself, challenge these barriers, and reframe your story in order to make empowered choices that align with your values and goals.

As you are in the process of looking for a therapist, you may already be half-way through resolving your issues. It is said that client's readiness and willingness to make changes is the strongest indicator of successful therapy outcome. As a therapist, I will accompany you in the journey of actualizing your fullest potential by assisting you to develop internal and external resources such as the sense of freedom, choices, healthy sense of self, responsibility, managing life balance, and strong support systems and relationships.

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.

Is depression, anxiety, and/or trauma getting in the way of having fulfilling relationships? Maybe you're feeling stuck in your relationship(s), going through a change in identity, or entering/letting go of a particular life stage? Perhaps the complexity of transition is causing you to feel overwhelm, fear, grief, confusion, or loneliness? I’m here to journey with you to tender territory, taking a gentle, warm, yet direct approach. As a Contemplative Psychotherapist, I use mindfulness to tune into and reflect back your innate wisdom and wholeness that is already within.

Are neurodivergent traits from ADHD or autism causing challenges in your relationship? Has infidelity caused a rupture in trust with your partner? Do you struggle with sexual addiction? I specialize in helping individuals and couples navigate the unique challenges of neurodivergent relationships, as well as breaches of trust. I can help you navigate these painful wounds and leverage your strengths, while addressing emotional barriers and struggles to communicate empathy. Together, you can build a stronger, more supportive relationship, connect on a deeper level, and create the relationship you both want.

I offer compassion-based therapy which focuses on what's right and good in you. I team with clients to create a mutual, shared space of compassion, caring and healing. In this space, problems are explored together, losses and hurts are held together. Where there is trauma, it is transformed through body-based somatic therapy and EMDR. I bring a wide array of therapeutic techniques, from ancient wisdom traditions to cutting edge neurobiology, to support your healing and provide practical skills for reaching your goals. Whatever difficulties you face - healing is the rule, not the exception. Private Pay; $160 (some sliding scale)

Thank you for reaching out for help. I want to provide a safe space for you to express uncomfortable feelings and thoughts, and explore your well intentioned motivations and find some peace of mind.