THERAPY FOR RESIDENTS OF CALIFORNIA & WASHINGTON
WHEN TALK THERAPY ISN’T ENOUGH
Relational, Experiential & Somatic Individual & Couples/Relationship Therapy
SPECIALIZING IN SELF ESTEEM, GRIEF, AND ATTACHMENT/RELATIONSHIP/COUPLES THERAPY
CLINICAL CONSULTATION FOR LICENSED THERAPISTS
SUPERVISION FOR ASSOCIATE THERAPISTS
TRAUMA INFORMED WORKSHOPS FOR ORGANIZATIONS
When Talk Therapy Isn’t Enough
Therapy For Adults (21 Years Old+) & Couples/Dyads
For California & Washington State Residents
Hi, I’m Canh (he/him).
Going to therapy is fucking hard work.
Change is hard. Human beings are hard wired to avoid pain.
Most people avoid their recurring, deeply embedded unhelpful and ineffective patterns through denial, over working, avoidance, distraction, ruminating, procrastination, and/or lying to themselves.
Long lasting transformational change and growth is often unpleasant and uncomfortable requiring hard work, effort, time, money, and ongoing practice.
You will feel uncomfortable at times. Healing is rarely easy and pleasant, however, on the other side of healing is a sense of ease, calm, and freedom.
I’ll support you with guidance, support, challenge, care, kindness, and compassion.
I am an integrative therapist therapist trained in a variety of modalities including:
Somatic Experiencing (SE)
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR)/Attachment Focused EMDR
Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP)
MDMA-Assisted Therapy for PTSD (not FDA-approved and not available)
Mentalization-Based Therapy
Clinical Hypnosis
Mindfulness Based-Cognitive Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy
One therapy modality will not be effective for every issue and every person. Complex issues require complex solutions.
I am not loyal to a therapeutic modality, but rather integrate and use the most effective modalities for what you are seeking.
I laugh. I curse. I interrupt. I challenge. I am a real person in our sessions, not a passive therapist who will let you vent the entire session.
My role as a therapist is to be a mirror for your experience, provide you education and resources, deeply listen to you, respond to you with compassion, provide you honest feedback, challenge limiting/unhelpful assumptions, encourage you to take relational risks, teach you skills/tools, and hold you accountable.
I don’t shy away from difficult topics and will help you confront what you’ve been avoiding.
I dive deep into the source of your issues rather than staying on the surface level, so you can understand why you do what you do (insight), interrupt unhelpful patterns (change), and feel more at ease in your mind and body (integration).
This is the not the right fit for all clients, especially those who are seeking a gentle, warm, maternal/paternal, silent therapist allowing you to vent the entire session.
I work best with clients who have tried talk therapy before, and want something more active, engaged, practical, and dives deeper into your issues.
My style is more of a compassionate, tough love, direct, and keeping you accountable toward reaching your goals.
Therapy is not the only way toward healing and growth. There are many ways to heal and therapy is only one way, but certainly not the only way. You get to decide if therapy is a part of your journey or not.
Life’s too short to keep being stuck in the same unhelpful patterns and self sabotage. Healing and liberation is possible.
Take good care of yourself. Be gentle and fierce.
Note: There are no guarantees therapy will solve all problems, or how quickly changes will occur. There are no miracle cures, but it improves the odds, particularly if you start early.
Specialties
OTHER AREAS OF INTEREST: PERSONAL GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT, JOY, SELF ESTEEM, UNCONDITIONAL SELF LOVE, RACIAL IDENTITY & LGBTQIA+ FOLKS
I WORK WITH ADULTS (21 YEARS+) AND COUPLES/DYADS
grief, loss & death anxiety
Physical Death, Traumatic Loss, Ambiguous Loss, Loss of Safety/Time/Trust/Identity/Ability, Separation, Divorce, New Diagnosis/Illness, Facing Our Mortality, Embodied Grief, Grief Rituals & Practices, Tending to Grief
couples THERAPY & relationship/ATTACHMENT
Self Sabotage, Intellectualizers, Workaholics, People Pleasers, Over Functioners, Codependency, Avoidance/Counter Dependency, Anxiety, Rigidity & Perfectionism, Fear of Intimacy & Pushing Others Away, Fear of Conflict & Fawning/Appeasing, Pushing Down Emotions, Shame
CHILDREN OF IMMIGRANTS & REFUGEES
Bicultural Identity, Cultural Double Bind, Internal Conflicts, Shame & Guilt, Roles & Responsibilities, Intergenerational Trauma, Migration Stories, Code Switching, Grief, Anger, Silence, Survival Strategies, Survivor’s Guilt, Religion & Identity, First Generation College Students
SOMATIC & MIND/BODY CONNECTION
Stress Management, Anxiety, Burn Out, Secondary Trauma/Vicarious Trauma, Dissociation, Nervous System Regulation, Boundaries, Difficulty Feeling Emotions & Sensations, Empowerment, Wounded Healers, Therapists & Social Workers, Healthcare Workers
Associate Therapists Under My Supervision
I supervise the associate clinicians below seeking independent licensure. They regularly meet with me for guidance and support. They offer lower fees than I do and have immediate availability/openings. You can mention my name for a possible quicker response.
Click here for referrals to other therapists.
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Dannia Velazco
Somatic and Parts Work Therapist
If you are feeling the pull to connect more deeply to yourself, body, and knowing, welcome. A space where we go beyond thinking and talking through your experiences. A warm and compassionate space to address trauma, attachment, and embodiment.
$150. Individuals. Virtual & In Person Session in Queen Anne.
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Michelle Perrier
LMHCA, EMDR Psychotherapist
Being human is hard. In our work together, you'll find a compassionate space where you can navigate life's transitions and challenges, from traumatic experiences and relationship dynamics to managing intense emotions like anxiety, depression and stress. I use trauma-informed, body-based approaches like EMDR, somatic therapy, and parts work (IFS) to support healing at the root. We all have an inner healer, and I am here to help you access yours.
$165. Telehealth Washington.
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Jack Shaw
LMHCA, Individual & Couples Therapy
I provide compassionate support and professional guidance to help you navigate life's challenges.
$130 - $150
Individuals & Couples/Dyads
Online Sessions Only
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Jenna Montgomery
LSWAIC, Individual & Couples/Polycule Therapy
Feeling stuck in your relationships or disconnected from yourself? Therapy offers a safe and compassionate space to explore your feelings and understand the human experience. I help partners and individuals strengthen their relationship and attachment styles. The work requires vulnerability – like building muscle, you must first break it down – and it’s in this space where people are able to change.
$130 individuals. $200 couples/polycules. Telehealth and in person (Wallingford). Accepts Lifewise & Premera BCBS.
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Z. Mayreni López
The core concepts of my approach are that relationships are fundamental to emotional wellbeing, that individuals develop and thrive through connection to others, that relationships that foster mutual empathy and empowerment lead to growth, and that cultural context and power dynamics rooted in systemic oppression influence relationships, individual experiences, and our ability to show up authentically.
$180. Accepting Lifewise, Premera, and most BCBS plans. Virtual sessions & In-Person in South Beacon Hill on Fridays.
Moving Beyond the Scarcity of Trauma
I talk about the how trauma shapes our perception of self and relationships with other people.
Ways I Try To Decolonize My Therapy Practice
Being Human club shares my thoughts on how I strive to continually provide culturally responsive care as an imperfect mental health therapist.
Click here to learn more.
Understanding Trauma & Its Impacts on Relationships
I discuss how to unpack trauma and its impact on our relationships on Asian Mental Health’s Weekly Stay In, Check In.
Click here to learn more.
Press & Media
Read more about me and my work by clicking on the news articles and podcast interviews below.
Please contact me if you’d like me to be a guest on your podcast or interview me for an article.
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I speak with Seattle’s NPR station KUOW-FM about how using the concept of the inner child in therapy can be a powerful way to heal from the effects of childhood trauma and neglect.
Click here to listen to the audio clip.
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I speak with Healthline about integenerational trauma and its impacts on our relationships with ourselves and others.
Click here to read the article.
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“Some people become so accustomed to living with the impact of generational trauma in a family that accepts it as ‘normal,’ the trauma becomes normalized and symptoms appear ‘normal’ to them”
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“A trauma-informed and resilience lens is crucial.
It’s moving from, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ to ‘What happened to you?’ to ‘How have you learned to survive?’ and eventually ‘What can we do to support your healing moving forward?'”
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“Therapy is only one way, but not the only way to heal from the impacts and legacies of trauma.
Reconnecting to your cultural wisdoms and knowledge is one step.
What did your grandparents do to heal? What about your great-grandparents?”
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I speak with Mind Body Green about signs of dating emotionally unavailable men.
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Minimizing another person's feelings is another indication of emotional unavailability. As licensed clinical social worker Canh Tran, LCSW, explains, someone who's emotionally unavailable might reach for their phone when you're crying or even laugh at your emotional anguish, tears, etc.
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I speak with Mind Body Green about how dissociation and disconnection is a sign of emotional detachment often times stemming from trauma and how it impacts our relationships.
Click here to read the article.
- "You learn to dissociate or disconnect from your feelings and bodies to survive these adverse and traumatic experiences—because it would have been too painful to experience them."
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"Just as trauma and neglect changes us, we can also change and grow from adverse experiences.
Learn to identify sensations in the body when feelings arise, find words to feelings, learn healthy boundaries like how to say no, and [allow yourself] to be witnessed by someone who can offer validation when feeling a wide range of emotions."
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I speak with Beyond Reproach about how to take care of ourselves and manage stress during this time of challenge and transition.
Click here to listen.
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I speak with Healthline about why people of color might be hesitant to seek out therapy.
Click here to read the article.
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I speak with Seattle’s NPR KUOW-FM about why I don’t work with insurance companies due to common frustrations and issues.
Click here to listen to the episode.
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I discuss my personal tip I engage in when I feel anxious and overwhelmed.
Click here to read the article.
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I speak with The Seattle Times about why it’s difficult to find a therapist who will accept insurance and due to increased mental health needs during the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Click here to read the article.
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The Seattle Times references my website as a source for therapy referrals, especially for BIPOC folks looking for a culturally responsive and attuned therapy.
Click here to read the article.
Free Resources & Referrals
There are many other types of therapies I do not offer that may be a better fit for what you’re seeking (psychoanalysis, CBT, DBT, etc.).
My goal is for clients to find a good fit therapist, whether that is with me or with someone else, or to learn more about mental health and wellness.
That’s why I’ve spent hundreds of hours compiling and creating free resources for those seeking:
Education on therapy for those brand new to therapy,
Eduction on trauma, and attachment/relationships,
Navigating and understanding health insurance,
Referrals to therapists who accept insurance as well as lower/reduced fees ($10 - $100), and
Free resources for associate therapists seeking independent licensure in Washington State.
I am wishing you the best on your healing journey.
May you and your loved ones be safe, healthy, and at ease.
Click here for referrals to other therapists.
Click here for free resources.