COUNSELING METHODS

Seeking psychotherapy is a sign of strength, indicating your desire to make
positive changes in your life.

As a mental health counselor, I can help you feel less isolated as you gain insight, clarify goals, enhance communication skills, build healthy relationships, strengthen self-esteem, lessen helplessness, manage stress effectively, make positive decisions, heal from the past, gracefully move through  life transitions, sleep soundly, engage in meaningful activities, and enjoy life.

I integrate research-based holistic techniques from humanistic and transpersonal psychology, family systems, dreamwork, cognitive restructuring, art therapy, visualization, and research-based neurological methods to heal trauma and negative self-beliefs using EMDR - eye motion desensitization and reprocessing.

Humanistic psychology supports your healing and personal growth by building on your strengths, focusing on meaning, potential, transformation, self-determination, resilience, motivation, talent development, competence, responsibility, and self-actualization.

Client centered humanistic psychology provides a holistic (mind - body - spirit, individual - familial - social - physical - spiritual) view of the individual.



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Humanistic psychology also studies creativity.  Enhanced facility with creativity can contribute to successful life transitions and positive changes in everyday life. Creativity is used by individuals who adjust successfully to divorce, contribute to innovation in business, make positive changes, transform  relationships, gain skills,  succeed in school, and respond productively to crisis.

​Family systems thinking (sometimes referred to as marriage and family therapy) recognizes that each individual participates in multiple relationships. Individuals, couples, families, societies, schools, and work environments have patterns of behavior that influence individuals. 

Psychotherapy can help you change patterns that cause conflict, stress, isolation, misunderstanding, helplessness, or other kinds of problems - even if you are the only member of the family or couple attending  counseling.For individual clients, systems therapy can enhance personal, emotional, and cognitive (thought-related) relationships -  with work, school, friends, sexuality, health, talent, achievement, money, recreation, physical health, community, and home.

Today, families come in many different “shapes and sizes,” including blended families, single parent families, unmarried parents or partners, same-sex parents, parents with adopted children, couples who are from different ethnic or religious backgrounds, families with chronic illness or disability, children who are LGBTQ, and multi-generational extended families.

There are some fairly common issues that cause problems, including communication styles, financial disagreements, loss of intimacy, disagreements or difficulty with child rearing, division of household responsibilities, diverging career paths, drug or alcohol abuse, and sexuality. You might yearn for better, more effective communication with your children or parents, or desire more intimacy, harmony, trust, and companionship with your partner.

During our sessions, I will give you unconditional positive regard, empathy, and nonjudgmental acceptance. My knowledge of the creative process can support you as you transform your life. We can explore how family patterns continue to affect your life and how to establish more productive patterns.

At this time, all sessions are held via telehealth. This allows me to work with clients who reside anywhere in the state of Washington.