My Approach to Helping
My goal as a therapist is to help clients create lives that express who they truly are as whole and complex human beings. When we feel cut off from others or from ourselves, our innate sense of wholeness can get lost beneath unbearable aloneness. But psychotherapy can integrate the many parts of our brains and ourselves. This is a collaborative process that can heal old wounds by inviting us to experience ourselves in new ways, within the relationship we build with a warm and compassionate therapist.
Therapy is a partnership, built on safety and acceptance. It invites us to rediscover the parts of ourselves we had to disown as children in order to keep our caregivers close; to learn new skills to handle grief and distress; to build healthier, more nurturing relationships; and to gain access to our own direct experience of the world, perhaps for the first time. I nurture this partnership with clients by recognizing that each individual possesses the wisdom he or she needs, as well as the innate capacity to love, to connect, and to thrive.
I see the work clients and therapists do together as a celebration of and reconnection to the deep selves within us all. I know from experience that coming to rest on the true ground of our being, the amazing moments when something inside says, Yes, this is me! is the most powerful source of healing and growth.
More Info About My Practice
My path to this work has been a circuitous one, and I'm grateful for the life experience I've gained along the way. I draw from my background teaching English Literature as a graduate student at the University of Washington, reporting and writing for Newsweek Magazine in New York and later for the Seattle Weekly, and directing the Marketing Program at The Northwest School. And parenting three children, including twins, has given me a deep interest in issues of attachment, identity and role change, and prenatal loss.
I have a Masters degree in English Literature from the University of Washington and a Masters degree in Mental Health Counseling and Psychology from Antioch University Seattle. I see clients at the YWCAPathways Clinic in Lynnwood, as well as in my private practice on Seattle's Lake Union. My theoretical orientation is Relational and Psychodynamic, drawing strongly from recent discoveries in neuroscience, from Mindfulness, and from Attachment Theory.
Choosing the right therapist is crucial, so I offer a 30-minute consultation at no cost. This gives us both the chance to feel what it's like to sit together, and to decide whether working together feels right.
My fee is $100 per 50-minute session, payable at the time by cash or check. I am able to offer a limited number of sessions for clients who need a reduced fee, so please feel free to ask about this if necessary.
Because I do not belong to an insurance panel, I cannot bill your insurance provider directly. However, if your policy covers Out-of-Network or Non-Preferred Providers, I will be glad to supply a receipt you can submit for reimbursement.
Specific Issue(s) I'm Skilled at Helping With
I try to understand the world as my clients see it, to sense what they are feeling at any given moment, and to meet them, wherever they are. By recognizing, welcoming, and making room for every part of the client within our relationship, I do my best to create the safe space where healing can unfold.
Clinicians who offer sliding scale payment structures may offer lower or reduced fees based on an individual's ability to pay. Please contact this clinician for more details regarding their fees or sliding scale policy.