Licensed to practice in Washington and accepts 9 insurances. Specializes in Dissociative Disorders, Grief, Trauma and PTSD and 9 more.
(He/Him)
New to Grow
Hello! I'm John, a compassionate and grounded therapist. who is committed to symptom reduction in order to open the door to deeper work. I use a variety of approaches to find what works best for you. You'll find me to be kind and warm, which is helpful when it's time for hard truths. My focus is on the whole person, learning where you're stuck and bringing curiosity and compassion to those places. Together we'll rewrite the subconscious narrative that informs your patterns, bringing healing and wholeness. My goal is to walk with you on your journey from surviving to thriving.
In our first session, I'll ask about your reasons for coming to counseling, answer any questions you have about my approach, and work on rapport-building. If you're coming in with a specific/acute need, I might offer targeted interventions so you can leave feeling that you have something tangible to work with.
I came to the mental health game later in life, and that informs who I am as a therapist. I understand intimately the ways we humans adapt to trauma, and the difficulty in changing. I certainly believe change is possible, or I would not be in this field. My focus is first on safety. It's not until you feel safe with me that the parts of you who need to be involved in change will feel comfortable enough to come to the table. True change is a marathon, not a sprint, and I'm in it with you for as long as is helpful.
Whether you're looking for better 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 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.
Other specialties
I identify as
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.