welcome

Making the decision to seek professional support is not always easy. It can be trying to find a counselor who is a “good fit”. It can be embarrassing or anxiety-provoking to think about discussing our difficulties with someone else, usually because we fear judgment, shame, and criticism.

I want you to experience the compassionate, thoughtful, and truly helpful presence of another human being… regardless of the cause of your current distress. All of us, no matter what the source of our distress or how “awful” we feel we have been deserve compassion, respect, and help that is meaningful.

It is also of utmost importance to me that you know that you are getting value for your time and money. To that end, I work with people to develop a shared understanding of what causes distress in your life. We come to an agreement on how to work together and regularly assess our progress. The nature of this work looks different for each person. You can read more about how I approach therapy over here.

If I can be of assistance to you or someone you care about, call or email today for support, information, referrals or an appointment. I am best reached by email at robin (at) growing-hope dot com or by telephone at 206-486-4673.

scope of practice

Although social work provides broad training enabling me to assist with a wide variety of life situations, I have chosen specialties in the following areas:

• anxiety, panic, OCD, specific phobias, social anxiety
• Asperger’s and High Functioning Autism
• activists, hackers, and makers
• creativity and giftedness
• disability related issues and adapting to life with a disability
• poly-affirming and kink-friendly therapy

I mostly work with children and youth ages 4 and up, individual adults, and the families of these people. I hold space for groups, though do not offer couples counseling or marital therapy at this time.

I insist that my practice locations meet or exceed ADA standards for universal accessibility. I sign at a beginning conversational level of American Sign Language and actively pursue greater fluency in ASL.

I am a Child Mental Health Specialist in the state of Washington, and hold a Licensed Social Work Associate – Independent Clinical credential from the Department of Health. This means I am working toward my full independent clinical social work license, which I expect to obtain in 2013.

Nugget, my golden retriever service dog usually accompanies me in my practice. If you have allergies or other dog-related concerns, please let me know in advance so we can effectively accommodate both of us.