Licensed to practice in Washington and accepts 10 insurances. Specializes in Depression, Life Transitions, First Responders/Healthcare Workers and 2 more.
(he/him)
New to Grow
I'm Sean, and I use he/him pronouns. I'm a mental health counselor with experience working with individuals facing difficult life circumstances and choices, as well as challenges such as anxiety and depression. I work from a mixed existential and humanistic framework, which means I think therapy works when we create an accepting and supportive atmosphere that invites you to explore your own experiences more fully to enable greater awareness and thus more freedom of choice. I may at times suggest specific actions if I think they might be helpful, but they are always optional. To me the most powerful things that happen in therapy happen through the shared understanding we build collaboratively, through you exploring your own experience. Therapy is something that is created between therapist and client not something someone does to you.
In our first meeting my goal is to get to know about who you are and what it is that brings you to therapy. I strive to meet you where your at, accepting what you choose to share with me while inviting but not pressuring you to explore your thoughts and feelings in the shared space. For purposes of paperwork in the first meeting I will also likely ask questions about your background including family, education, work and any past challenges around health and mental health, though answering any of these questions remains optional. I will spend some time describing what to expect from me moving forward and how I think about therapy so you can make an informed decision about how to pursue your goals.
I have had the privilege of working with clients from a wide array of backgrounds in both inpatient and outpatient settings, and that experience shapes how I engage with people I work with now. I have learned that truth is revealed in layers, and at times must be earned as it requires trust. I have been reminded that what makes a life worth living is determined by the one living it. I have seen the value of pausing while someone decides what it is that they actually want to say.
One concern I heard from a brilliant friend as they described their skepticism toward therapy is the perception they can't benefit from it because they already understand the "problem" and they can google grounding skills just as well as their therapist can. To that I wish to argue that understanding the "problem" is only a start, and if it were possible to outsmart it they'd have already done it. Therapy can still help because it is more about what you let yourself feel, how you relate to yourself and how you relate to the thing that brings you to therapy than it is about what you know. Being good at engaging in therapy isn't about being brilliant, its about being willing to engage with the pieces of our experience we'd rather avoid. Its about being honest with ourselves in front of another person as we look at our own uncertainty, discomfort, and choices. Its about being brave, one step at a time. Since you're here I'm fairly certain you're considering such a step.
Other specialties
I identify as
Existential
Underlying most of our everyday challenges are concerns that humans have faced at least as long as we've had language to express these concerns if not longer. Concerns about death, our own mortality and the impermanence of that which we care about, concerns about the burden of making choices with incomplete information or knowledge of the outcomes of those choices, concerns about how even though we strive for connections we can never be fully known by others, and questions about the meaning or meaninglessness of well... everything, including ourselves. By exploring ideas of meaning, freedom, responsibility, and mortality we have the option to embrace that which matters and live as we choose. This process can often help alleviate symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and decision paralysis.
Humanistic
As a humanistic therapist I believe therapy works best in an environment of safety, security, and acceptance. When a person regularly has access to the experience of this kind of support from another person it supports them in the process of change and growth. As a therapist I strive to understand your experience from your perspective and I acknowledge that you are the expert on your own life.