My approach is grounded in compassion, collaboration and respect for your right to choose. I seek to thoroughly understand you and what troubles you. I want you to feel heard, appreciated and understood. I hold you capable and competent of achieving your counseling and life goals. I believe you are inherently good, even if you think your behaviors might be problematic. My sincere wish is that you think of yourself the same way. Acceptance of ourselves as we are, even as we acknowledge a need for change, is a precious gift that is incredibly freeing.

Generally, I suggest our first priority to be to get you feeling better and functioning more effectively as soon as possible. This means that depressive symptoms are lightened, anxiety and fears become manageable, difficult situations and crisis are worked through, and your ability to work, love and play is restored or enhanced. At this point you may feel you have gotten what you came for and end our work together.

However, I also believe in the value of resolving the underlying problems that lead to depression, anxiety, and other emotional and behavioral symptoms. As much as possible I want you to have no, or reduced, need for continuing medication and to not be dependent on interminable counseling. To achieve this in a manageable fashion I use a tiered approach that keeps you in charge of what you will do, how much you take on, the pace of the work and how far you will go. It is your life that is most impacted and those decisions can only be made by you.

Should you choose to do more a second phase is initiated that aims to identify and update defensive strategies and coping mechanisms that are often self-limiting and get in the way of you achieving your goals and dreams. This allows us to identify and explore any deeper emotional hurts that may have resulted in negative stories and beliefs about your very value as a person and your sense of self. Healing these deeper issues results in increasing your sense of and power to influence and author your own life; changes toxic views of your self; resolves painful conflicts; and increases your capacity to engage in deep, authentic connection with others. It is at this point that the most reliable and long lasting gains will be made. However, this is usually a long process lasting from one to three years. It is certainly not for everyone.

My Master of Arts in Psychology was earned at Antioch University in Seattle, Washington. This was preceded by a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Economics from the University of Washington and two years of graduate level training in organizational development and leadership at the Leadership Institute of Seattle (LIOS). I have completed the Washington state required training to be a domestic violence advocate, an area I am particularly passionate about. I work with the supervision of a PhD with more that thirty years experience providing, and teaching,  mental health and couples counseling. I have been a registered counselor in Washington state for two years.

I am married and we celebrated 31 years together in September 2009. I reside in the Seattle area and have my office in the university district in northeast Seattle.

Washington State Registered Counselor (RC60001471)