I am a licensed mental health counselor (LMHC) who works primarily with couples. I get satisfaction in helping people gain a deeper understanding of themselves and of the significant people in their lives, regardless of whether they are in relationship. In my work with couples I have found that the PACT approach developed by Stan Tatkin is particularly powerful and I have trained directly with Stan through the highest level (level 3) and am currently the only therapist in WA state to be certified by Stan in the method. I have also trained with the brilliant couple therapist Terry Real . You can read more about my approach to working with couples here.
Every relationship of course is composed of individuals, so at times my focus is on the emotional and somatic (body) responses that come up in one partner during the session. I facilitate my clients in bringing increased awareness and curiosity towards their own habitual responses in order to become less reactive and more choice-full as they move in their world. I often rely on techniques learned through training in Hakomi (I am a certified Hakomi Method Therapist), Non-Violent Communication (NVC) and The Work of Byron Katie.
I have extensive training in meditation and mindfulness with a focus on stress reduction, self compassion and acceptance of the relevance, power and beauty of present moment experience. I have also been deeply influenced by training in 2 areas I recommend everyone consider: improvisational comedy, which is all about finding a way to creatively say “yes!” to what the moment presents, and blues dancing which is about being physically attuned to the movements of my partner. My work is infused with pauses, for I deeply believe in the power of the space described in this quote:
Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
I earned my Masters in Behavior Science from the Leadership Institute of Seattle (LIOS) in 2007, after working in the software and technology sector for the first part of my career. I draw on my own experience as a husband (30+ years!), father, son and brother. In addition to my counseling practice, I held an adjunct faculty position at the LIOS counseling program at Saybrook University until the program closed in 2018 and formerly served as President of the Seattle Counselors Association.
Rates: $200/hour. I am not paneled with any insurance companies (most insurance does not cover counseling where the focus is on the relationship instead of an individual diagnosis). I am happy to provide clients with an itemized receipt they can submit for possible reimbursement as an out-of-network provider. The unfortunate truth is that in my experience, most OON (but not all) reimbursement requests are denied. Please check with your insurance company to determine your coverage. When doing so, please make sure to ask “under my plan, is CPT code 90847 with ICD-10 diagnosis code Z63.0 a covered benefit?”
Sessions with couples are 2 hours long (occasionally shorter if we have been seeing each other for a while), with an initial session of 3 hours. Most clients see me every other week but some choose to come less frequently depending on the circumstances of their lives and couples in particular distress may choose to schedule every week. I am also sometimes available to work with a couple in more intensive 4-7 hour sessions. These can be useful for a couple that wants to quickly break through a significant logjam in their relationship or for those couples who need to travel or whose schedules make it difficult to make regular weekday appointments. Please contact me directly if you are interested in longer intensives.
Affirming
As therapist, I affirm the inherent value of all people and their right to live and love in peace. As a couple therapist, I especially want to affirm the beauty of all loving relationships in any consensual form. While my preferred pronouns are “he” “him” and “his”, I welcome people into my practice regardless of cultural, sexual or gender identity.
Accessibility
Please be aware that because my office is in an older house, it is not ADA accessible. Getting into my office involves navigating up 5 stairs from the street and then 10 stairs down into the office itself. If you have mobility concerns I would be happy to discuss whether or not my office will meet your needs and, if necessary provide you with a referral to counselors with ADA accessible office space. Telehealth sessions are also an available alternative to in person.
