I have a background in clinical medicine, public health, and mental health research. I have worked in large healthcare systems, community hospitals, acute psychiatry units, and outpatient settings. I have worked with diverse populations from varying age groups and cultural backgrounds, and with an array of diagnoses including anxiety, bipolar, borderline, depression, and schizophrenia. I have also conducted clinical trials to help veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder and suicidal ideation. While I have profound respect for medicine, I feel limited by the medical model and its emphasis on stabilization of patients with mental health diagnoses rather than the exploration of the root cause of problems. Further, the medical model is pathologizing and often overlooks patients’ voices and values. I began searching for a mental health care model that considered the wider relational and sociocultural context surrounding the individual, couple, or family that may cause the onset of symptoms. Research has led me to psychotherapy where context is everything and individual voices and values are heard. I believe that psychotherapy has the potential to heal the human spirit beyond what medicine can offer.
Shakespeare wrote, “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.” I seek to understand your life’s play with its many characters, plots, conflicts, resolutions, twists, symbols, and possibilities. Like a play, contextual factors set the stage and shape who you are as a person, your values, and your relationships. I am interested in learning the history of your play to help you make the changes that you seek in your next act.
I practice from a solution-focused narrative approach with an emphasis on insight, feedback, and manageable change. I tailor sessions to meet the unique needs of each client by incorporating complementary modalities that effectively address personal life challenges. Whether you are experiencing anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, or struggling through major adjustments, you have the power to end conflict and start healing. The goal of our therapeutic work will be to uncover deep seeded issues, remove obstacles to growth, build on points of strength and resilience, and cultivate coping skills to improve relationships and quality of life. I practice a respectful, collaborative, and non-pathologizing approach to systemic therapy. I aim to help clients gain insight into the patterns of thinking and behavior needed to facilitate change, reduce symptoms, improve functionality, and discover meaning in life to actualize mental and relational wellbeing. I welcome individuals, couples, families, and children.
I accept most Washington State Insurance Plans as well as an out of network rate of $40 per hour.
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