Licensed to practice in Washington and accepts 10 insurances. Specializes in Dissociative Disorders, Parenting, Trauma and PTSD and 8 more.
John Carleton
(He/Him)
New to Grow
Hello! I'm John, a compassionate and grounded therapist. I especially love working with parents in all stages of life. Parenting is a challenging job - nobody can trigger us quite like our kids! As a parent myself, I know how hard it can be to stay grounded and provide loving, consistent boundaries when our kids (babies/tots/teens/adults) are pushing our buttons. My approach will be tailored to your needs; I use somatic tools to help your body learn what calm and safety feel like, cognitive tools to help change the way you think/see/approach situations, and recognize patterns you learned when you were very young so that you can start to identify and interrupt those patterns as they happen so you can notice your reaction and choose how to respond differently. I'm also EMDR-trained and have found it to be yet another helpful tool that allows our brains to heal so we're less reactive and better able to be the parents we desire to be. I see change as a marathon, not a sprint. We'll first focus on immediate symptom reduction. Once you're not constantly blowing up/shutting down, we can move toward deeper, lasting change. It took x number of years for you to get where you are; you won't change established patterns overnight. We'll work on helping you find compassion for yourself in this process. You're human; you won't be perfect. Real change starts to happen when you make the same old mistake, remember that you're on a healing journey, extend yourself some grace, do the necessary repair work, and try again.
Get to know me
In our first session together, here's what you can expect
In our first session, I'll listen to your reasons for coming to counseling, hear your goals for what you hope to achieve, and answer any questions you have about my approach. I'll be learning about your past and current struggles without you feeling like you're being interrogated. You'll be learning about me and how I am in the room, and deciding for yourself if we're a good fit. My goal is for you to leave the first session feeling heard and seen, not just assessed.
The biggest strengths that I bring into our sessions
I came to the mental health game later in life, after I'd already become a father, and that informs who I am as a therapist. I understand intimately the ways the past intrudes on the present and the ways we can feel stuck in patterns that feel impossible to change. My compassionate, non-judgmental presence allows your body to start to relax, over time allowing curiosity to replace internal judgment. This in turn opens the door to real, lasting change.
The clients I'm best positioned to serve
Whether you're looking for better parenting, coping, or communication skills, need support dealing with grief or loss, want to understand why certain relational patterns keep happening, or want help processing trauma, I'm here to support you. My ideal client is anyone who wants to understand themselves better. It's okay if you're not sure if you're actually ready to change - if you have even a little part of you that is tired of the status quo and wants something different, we can work with that.
Specialties
Top specialties
Dissociative Disorders
Parenting
Trauma and PTSD
Other specialties
Anxiety
Depression
Family Conflict
First Responders/Healthcare Workers
Men's Issues
School Issues
Self Esteem
Sexual Abuse
I identify as
Man
White
Serves ages
Adults (18 to 64)
Licensed in
Washington
Accepts
Arlo
Cash - $150 per session
Centivo
Cigna
Cigna - HealthEZ
EAP:Cigna
EAP:Evernorth
Evernorth
GTEB
Tufts Health/Cigna
Location
Offers in-person in 365 Ericksen Ave NE, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110, Suite 320
Virtual
My treatment methods
Psychodynamic
The patterns that bother us/we feel stuck in today were often formed when we were young to keep us safe. Bringing compassion to those formative experiences allows us to soften toward ourselves and find the capacity for change.
EMDR
I am EMDR trained. I've found success in using this method in conjunction with traditional talk therapy or when people have been doing talk therapy for a while and feel stuck.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
We contain multitudes. Sometimes it feels like someone else is driving the bus and we're just passive observers. Looking at the parts that make up our whole self, we can start to understand the civil war within. Understanding the roles parts play can lead to compassion, which opens the door to tentative agreements between previously warring parts, which can ultimately lead to making peace internally.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Change is not possible when you're triggered. I use both body and mind based mindfulness approaches to teach you to find grounding after you've been triggered. This opens the door to noticing the ramp up, allowing you to pre-emptively calm your body, when eventually leads to being triggered less.