Psychodynamic Therapists in Seattle, WA

Psychotherapy involves entering into the stuck places of your life and listening for how you struggle to live freely and authentically. It involves discovering, caring for, and reshaping the parts of your mind that are related to the problems you experience. This may involve learning to recognize unhelpful responses to pain that have themselves evolved into addictive or compulsive behaviors, addressing problematic relational patterns or making room to feel the deep hurts of loss or trauma and learning how to live well with the wounds that have shaped you.

At some point, many of us can be overwhelmed by feelings anxiety, anger, disconnectedness -- or maybe we simply feel stuck in life. These painful places are not just emotional experiences; they can also be seen as spiritual. They carry the potential to transform us. The key to unlocking such transformation is to listen deeply enough to discover the meaning inherent in our most difficult experiences. I can help you to do that; it is the work I love to do. My goal is to help you discover greater freedom by connecting with your own deepest wisdom.

You hope to ease your distress and experience healing, and ultimately, to enjoy satisfying, fulfilling relationships with others and with yourself. You seek the magic that comes from looking within and cultivating a relationship with your own rich inner world- a brave and vulnerable first step to finding wholeness, relief, and self-awareness. Depth psychotherapy is the process of turning inward and examining unconscious aspects of the self that have influenced you outside of your awareness, a practice that not only alleviates symptoms and suffering, but transforms unhealthy coping behaviors and problematic relationship patterns.

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.

Are you feeling disconnected from yourself or your life’s purpose? Are stress and uncertainty making it tough to envision what you truly desire? I’ll work with you to better understand yourself, leverage strengths, and align with your most meaningful goals. I’m particularly attuned to working with creative, high-intensity, and out-of-the-box thinkers. Constellations of these traits often include aspects of ADHD, giftedness, high sensitivity, and other forms of neurodivergence. I also specialize in issues that emerge at midlife, a unique time in which new stressors and shifting priorities can manifest in unexpected ways.

I work with teens and adults who are navigating life transitions, seeking to understand themselves better, or who are struggling with the effects of depression, anxiety, or trauma. As a queer and genderqueer second-generation Chinese American, I offer an affirming environment for LGBTQ, BIPOC, and QTPOC folks, and people with other marginalized identities.

For the last 10 years, I've been working with people who are seeking relief from anxiety, depression, relationship issues, and life transitions. I work with clients who are looking for a supportive space for self-reflection and growth, with the goal of building relationship skills and coping strategies that can help them move through life in a more skillful way. I love working with people, and I use a warm and compassionate approach, not without direct and honest feedback, candor and humor. I'm often described as kind, spacious, and encouraging, providing a comfortable space for therapy.

I worked in the Social Work field for almost ten years with a breadth of clients, including youth and families, survivors of domestic violence and assault, and individuals with anxiety, depression, and trauma, and more. I believe clients are leaders of their stories and support them through psychodynamic care, tools, and goal utilization. I believe in treating everyone with respect, sensitivity, and compassion. I will tailor our dialog and treatment plan to meet your unique and specific needs. Thank you for trusting me in sharing your story. I am here to support & empower you in that journey.

I work from a psychodynamic approach, which seeks to understand symptoms rather than just manage them, views most human experiences as containing conflicting thoughts and feelings, and believes that self-honesty is fundamental to growth and healing. In practice, clients generally choose where to begin a psychodynamic session and move freely from there.

I enjoy working with Individuals & Couples who want to better understand the impact of their past experiences and family of origin, adult children of emotionally immature parents, those dealing with anxiety and/or depression, those considering marriage or children, those struggling to adjust after having a child, those who need help navigating conversations around values, finances, and work; those who want tools to cultivate a relationship of affection, kindness, and mutual respect.

Life is a difficult and confusing journey for all of us. Occasionally we get "stuck" along the path. Sometimes that growth is blocked because of issues, patterns and behaviors from the past which affect the way we feel, do or react in the present. If you are experiencing issues such as depression, anxiety, stress and relationship concerns. I can offer you: a combination of heart, skill, and understanding to help you find your own solutions to these problems that face you. Through the use of solution-oriented, emotionally focused, and reality based techniques, can help you and your relationships overcome obstacles and achieve your goals.

I am a licensed clinical psychologist and have been working as a psychotherapist for over 25 years. My orientation is psychodynamic and relational, which means that I view psychotherapy as a collaboration between therapist and client focused on exploring thoughts and feelings as they emerge in the context of a therapeutic relationship. Ultimately, successful psychotherapy may alleviate suffering, increase self-awareness, help one enjoy a broader range of emotional experience, and enhance one's ability to engage more fully in relationships with others.

Current openings! Many people think their problems aren't bad enough to seek help and continue suffering in the status quo - but if you're reading this, you must be getting exhausted! You might be wondering why you have such big reactions to minor inconveniences, or why things seem to come easy for everyone else. You've probably tried all the "self care" and are frustrated that you're still struggling. I have a particular interest in working with late or self diagnosed neurodivergent women and chronic illness sufferers. If your anxiety or pain is increasing, or you just have a sense that things are "off," maybe I can help!

Being human is both beautiful and hard. Along with joy and happiness, we can feel anxious, depressed or experience other forms of emotional distress. Together, we will investigate what your experiences of grief, loneliness, isolation, and anxiety may be trying to tell you about your life and where it may be possible to change these conditions to find more joy and happiness. We will explore larger questions about what it means to be human. As a therapist at Self Space, I seek to create a safe space where you can feel seen, heard, and understood so that you can have the courage to look inward and discover what may be holding you back.

I use a variety of approaches ranging from cognitive reframing, exploration of defense mechanisms and automatic thoughts, training in mindfulness, bodily awareness, and examination of feelings, among others. I am interested in the ways in which we each determine our realities, what our minds say to us, and the insight that can be gained from examining those.

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.

My approach involves meeting each individual person where they are when they start therapy and forming a warn collaborative relationship. I provide a safe and comfortable environment in which people can explore the concerns that brought them into psychotherapy. Relationships are complex and people often want to understand more about how they interact with others and evolve in a way that promotes having better relationships.

My work is ideal for people who have a desire to understand themselves more fully, and who are interested in exploring stuck patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior that cause suffering to themselves and the people in their lives. I work with clients experiencing anxiety and depression, grief and loss, relationship difficulties, life transitions, and issues around identity, including sexuality and gender issues. I also work with clients who are grappling with existential issues of meaning and mortality. I focus on the cultivation of awareness and acceptance in the safe environment of a compassionate therapeutic relationship.

Updated 8/1/24: My clients have come to me experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, and many other presenting concerns. In therapy I strive to understand and clarify my clients' goals and help them work toward building insight around their concerns. You don't have to know exactly what your goals might be, and during our work you can always add or change goals. This is your treatment and my hope is that you take an active role in determining the direction and depth of the work that we do together. My hope is that we can end every session feeling that we have made progress.