Find your way back to you
Online therapy in Washington state for adults across their lifespan
If you’ve been feeling the effects of not getting your needs met in relationships, are overwhelmed with life’s stressors or difficult family dynamics, or feel stuck in cycles of emotions & behaviors that you don’t know how to manage –
you deserve a change.
Mallory Mackie
Clinical Social Worker in Washington State
“It is never too late to be who you might have been.”
— George Eliot
You don’t need to have it all figured out …
Are you trapped thinking in black and white? Do you have a hard time seeing the grey area on issues? Do people tell you you’re rigid or controlling? Do you feel as if you could always have done something better? Does it feel like you’re never doing enough or that you’re never living up to someone’s expectations?
Overcoming anxious behaviors can be simple (but not easy).
In therapy, we focus on:
becoming more mindful
practicing self-compassion
co-regulating together
changing the rules
slowing down
creating calm in our lives
Counseling Across the Lifespan
I work with older adults
Whether you’re struggling with age-related emotions, spouse loss, the effects of memory loss or dementia, or disability, I am here for it. Aging can be very challenging in our society and it can also be alienating. Therapy can help process the experience.
I work with emerging adults
Young people are navigating their new life adulting, which comes with so many new challenges: college, work, romance, sex, body image, ageism, learning new things.
You’re also starting to unpack what happened in the family of origin and heal from it. This is no easy feat when going to school or working (or still living with those people!).
I work with middle aged adults
I enjoy working with adults in the middle of their life as well.
Many of my clients are in their 40s and 50s and we find ready rapport talking about the challenges of being in-between. You’ve established some things, yet there’s still work to be done. There are things to let go of and sometimes other people from multiple generations to care for, which can be incredibly trying. Therapy can help.
Issues I Treat
You identify as a perfectionist.
If you could just get it right, then everything would be okay! When you get things even the slightest bit wrong it feels like you’re terrible as a person. Or when it comes to a task, it’s totally overwhelming to do the small thing because the overall bigger thing needs to be done- how can I put the dishes away when the cupboard is dirty?
You want to explore your “little t” traumas
It wasn’t that bad. But, it still counts. You need somewhere to talk about the things that have been taking a back seat but gnawing at you for some time. Things that are left unresolved and are affecting your relationships, work, and self image. Therapy is a great, safe place to start unpacking.
You want to get out of your own head
You want to process what’s been stuck in your mind & gain insight into themselves so you can get back into the world and the game of life and quit debating with the committee of the mind.
You struggle to name & express your emotional experience
People have remarked that they could help you if you could only tell them what was wrong. When they ask you don’t even know where to begin. Sometimes people look at you funny: what do you mean you don’t know?
You struggle to tell the truth about your needs.
Communicating your wants and boundaries feels like it just might kill you. What if you say what you actually mean and they leave? Or what if they hate you? Or what if they ultimately stop loving you if you tell the truth about who you really are? You’re stuck in people pleasing mode all the time.
You’re grieving.
If only people were better at supporting us through loss, but they say all the worst things. Sometimes it makes us feel like we can’t even talk about our grief. So, sometimes we don’t. But everyone needs somewhere to talk about the sadness, the pain, the heartache, the lost sleep, the loneliness. It’s okay to let go of the heavy bags you’re carrying here.
You experienced a life altering event.
Some people go through a traumatic event that has greatly impacted their current quality of life & they want to heal and move on but don’t know how. Sometimes they’ve tried a lot of stuff on their own before getting to therapy ready to try anything.
You make fear-based decisions
Anxious is your middle name. Are you basically always overwhelmed? Making fear based decisions is a sign that trauma is running the show. Therapy can help you get out of the fight or flight response and back into your regular self.
You struggle with being kind to yourself
It’s a lot easier to be nice to others and to do kind things for other people. When it comes to self-care and being compassionate to yourself, you’ve tried, but it just kind of doesn’t work! We get it. Let’s try something new.
Treatment Modalities
I provide weekly or bimonthly counseling sessions that are process-oriented. I will structure the sessions with invitations to reflect on your week or how you have been feeling. I provide insight and tools to assist you in reaching your therapeutic goals. Therapy isn’t just about talking - it’s also about trusting that your therapist will help lead you in the right direction.
I work from a relational, psychodynamic, trauma-informed approach. If desired, Christian faith can be incorporated into our therapeutic work, but I work with people from all belief backgrounds. I think about you as a whole human being, and treat you with unconditional compassion.
I provide therapy from an integrative lens; this means that I use a variety of different modalities depending on what the client’s needs are. I use the following therapy modalities in my sessions:
* Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Cognitions (thoughts) and behaviors go hand in hand. CBT helps you identify and explore the way your emotions and thoughts can affect your actions. Once you notice these patterns, you can begin learning how to change your behaviors and develop new coping strategies.
* Mindfulness & Self-Compassion: Mindfulness is another thing you’ve probably heard of and may even be sick of hearing about! It may be different than you think. It’s becoming aware of the present moment without judgment. Self-compassion and acceptance are hard to implement for many, which is why a trusted therapist can act as a guide.
* Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
* Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)
Treating trauma with EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing
“EMDR is a structured therapy that encourages the patient to focus briefly on the trauma memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements), which is associated with a reduction in the vividness and emotion associated with the trauma memories… (EMDR) therapy is an extensively researched, effective psychotherapy method proven to help people recover from trauma…” - EMDRIA
I am trained in EMDR and use it with select clients who may benefit from treating their trauma. I am interested in navigating the intersections of grief, trauma, and anxiety.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) operates from the lens that pain and suffering are inevitable parts of life. Instead of trying to control or avoid pain and suffering, ACT teaches us to accept and make room for these experiences and relate to them differently.
The ultimate goal of ACT therapy is not to experience less suffering, but to develop the ability to be fully present in all emotions & experiences - even when these experiences are painful or upsetting, and to make choices based on personal values.
