Creative counseling for women in WA.

It took you a long time to realize what was “wrong”.

And what’s wrong was that you were right.

It never computed how you could feel uneasy and afraid around the very people who are supposed to have your back no matter what. You’ve survived on crumbs of fake kindness, masking the pungent taste of their need for control. Your ribs were never bruised or cracked - your spirit, on the other hand, you’re not sure you left with it intact. 

You’ve been coping with grace - or so friends remind you over a bottle of this year’s Beaujolais every time you can squeeze in a girl pal hang. Yet you still feel hollow and disconnected. You bought crystals to help clear the air of reminders of the negative vibes, but the ghosts of those mean words are around every corner. You tried unwinding with soy candles and your favorite kombucha; maybe even a little artisan bud while hanging out in your new soft flowery robe from Anthropologie, but your guts are still twisted with anxiety. You smudged every room in the house that was meant to be your sanctuary, but too often you feel like the subject of Rupi Karr’s poems, curled in upon yourself on the cold bathroom floor, nothing but your own tears to provide any warmth. 

You fold up your desire with the practiced ease of closing your well-worn umbrella. Compressing your hopes for new horizons with the sinking feeling that the universe will always rain on your parade.

Your Amazon order history serves as a desperate reminder of your attempts to heal your broken decision-maker. Hell, it’s not like you’re untried in therapy, you saw that group practice therapist who specialized in thought-tracking worksheets and affirmation coloring books, who loved to recommend episodes of Unlocking Us and We Can Do Hard Things.

It was all nice…..a pretty bandaid, TBH.  

hand holding a cup of tea

Everyone sees you as the quintessential survivor warrior woman - the next Glennon Doyle. You pulled through and looked damn good doing so.

But if they really looked underneath your easy-going style, your monthly wine subscription, and Bon Iver drifting from your record player, they’d see the dust collecting, the dry-cleaning piling up, and the daily unmade bed. Your preference for natural light, soft textures, and the scent of eucalyptus doesn’t tell the whole story. You’re like an overgrown, root-bound house plant, thirsty and craving space in a new pot, a new home. 

Even though the intensity of the situation has passed, there’s a shapeless cloud of fear slowing you down, like an imminent thunderstorm threatening to strike you through the center. You’re good at holding your shape but on the inside you’re a dizzy ball of panic. You can’t keep living this misalignment because you’ll fade away like last night’s sunset you watched from your third-floor picture windows. 

Life was not supposed to go this way.

You thought falling in love, getting married, and planning for a family were all the things you were supposed to do to be happy. But those things didn’t get you to the promised land, did they my friend? 

After a day’s work, you now spend your evenings reading travel memoirs and flipping through National Geographic. You don’t miss your “before” life, but at least you had some direction even if it was superficial, misguided, and based on someone else’s false dreams.

At your core, you’ve always been a seeker, curious about the unknown, at home in the wilderness. You’ve dreamt for years of traveling alone to magical places like the mysterious Machu Picchu and the timeless, dream-like glacial fjords of Patagonia. In your mind, these excursions seamlessly manifest themselves. You could certainly afford those adventures, but you’ve never actually followed through since the divorce. In your fantasy, you’re a fearless woman who takes a hike as well as inspired action every day. There’s a sweetness and ease to your lust for discovery, but it stops there. 

Admittedly you hiking boots are out of practice, stuck in the murk and mud of loneliness and isolation. You thought you’d rest easy after it was all said and done, but instead, you put your heart back to sleep in its rusty wire cage and soothe yourself with warm tears as part of your nightly routine. 

 

Enough of this girlfriend. 

Admit it, you’re really fucking lost.

You’re stuck and suffocated by your own lack of direction, fueled by your shitty self-talk.

You’ve misplaced your compass. 

And you’re terrified. 

You need a guide. 

And a sign.

Let’s get started →

Let’s talk about what therapy isn’t.

  • Therapy isn't about conforming.

    It’s letting go of someone else’s vision for you as well as your role of victim. It’s a journey into the unknown depths of yourself. It’s an invitation to pay attention to all of your senses and welcome all of your feelings. It’s opening your arms to curiosity and questions, and embracing the many facets of the gem that you are.

  • Therapy isn’t about perfection or getting it right.

    It’s about going off script and off the trail. It’s about following your instincts to explore what’s behind this tree or what’s off that cliff. It’s employing a judgment free cocoon to deepen your understanding of yourself by throwing rocks into the river and screaming into the forest. What ripples do you make? What echoes do you hear?

  • Therapy isn’t about solving problems overnight.

    It’s more of a cross-country trek on foot than a day-hike. It’s an investment of time and money. Sometimes it can feel slow-going and repetitive, like you’ve seen these trees or that landscape before, right?!? And just like you’d want to invest in the best gear for months on the trail, you also don’t want to scrimp on therapy. Plus, you’ve already tried that.

get started →

Be honest.

Lately you’ve been thinking it’s time to put your boots into action and take an excursion a little closer than South America. The adventure of therapy is like the arc of a good long hike up Mt. Constitution on an island closer to home. It begins with a short-but-quick elevation gain on a trail that passes through old-growth forest as we start to unpack what has brought you to therapy. Shit will start to change from the first session - you’re going to start to see your life differently right away.

As you journey, with the consistency and support of therapy, it is important to pause and acknowledge your growth, transformation, your deeper and looser sense of inner freedom as you would pause to take in the breathtaking views from a vista midway up the mountain.

There is a point in every good mountain climb when going forward seems preposterous, whether you’re tired, sore, or afraid, the trail ahead seems like an assault. And yet going back the same way isn’t an option either. 

Before therapy, you felt trapped, scared and so unsure. You had shitty self-talk and allowed yourself to be profoundly mistreated. Chaos and confusion ruled your mind. 

After therapy, you’ll feel empowered to make changes, take chances and create clear boundaries based on your values. You will no longer ignore your body’s “yes” and “no”. You’ll take your cues from your own inner knowing. You’ll have a deep sense of connection with yourself, nature, others. You’ll have learned to trust yourself and actually enjoy your own fucking company.

 Daydreaming ain’t gonna cut it anymore. And really - what excuse do you have? No one is telling you how and where you can spend your money anymore. No one has a demand on your time and location either.

You’re about to find home in the promised land - your promised land.

If you’ve read this far, I’m going to say you’ve got your sign. And if you let me, you’ve also got your guide.  

I’ll meet you at the trailhead of your inner world - not with insurance-approved modalities or homework sheets, or a pre-planned map. A fellow traveler who has traversed summits and canyons within myself:

Bryce Canyon’s red rock cliffs hold memories of the creative muse abandoning me, where the baby blue sky outlines the bronze hoodoos of Queen’s Garden. Crippling self-doubt brought me to my knees in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, where the Sanitas trailhead spills out onto the maple tree-lined boulevard.  My heart was broken and carved out hollow as I huddled on an outcropping, alone, cold, and waiting in the Sangre de Cristo peaks of New Mexico.

I’ll bring deep insight, candid compassion, and the tissues. You’ll bring your sharp awareness, commitment to spiritual growth, and devotion to investigating the answers to your life’s mysteries.

Deep Dive with Maggie →

Who’s Ready?

Your natural curiosity about yourself and human existence is almost insatiable! You’re a spiritual seeker at heart.

You’re committed to spending an hour every week deep-diving into your inner realms.

You’re interested in having “homework” - such as a journal or art prompt - to keep the working themes in therapy alive in your day-to-day life.

You see the invaluable investment in spending time really getting to know who YOU are and what YOU want, not what the world has prescribed for you.

You’ve really jived with and benefited from talk therapy in the past, and are looking for something more creative and outside the box.

You’re wanting someone to tell it to you straight, sans the bullshit and sugar-coating, even if it’s uncomfortable and sometimes unnerving.

You know growth is challenging, but the thought of it also floors you!

 

Who’s Not Ready?

You’re not really sure what you want to get out of therapy, just that you want to feel better.

You’re still thinking you can get through with cheap wine, yoga dates, YouTube meditations, and drop-in Betterhelp therapy (ie. texting your therapist for a session when things get really bad).

Like at the summer barter faires from your youth, you’re pretty sure you can negotiate the established fee and/or required session frequency.

You’d rather invest in upgrading your skincare routine and splurging on spontaneous weekend trips.

You’re looking for a therapist trained in an array of alphabet soup modalities or 8-session, insurance-approved protocols, such as EMDR, CBT, or IFS.

You’re not ready to be held accountable, and you cringe at the idea of your professional provider dropping the F-bomb. 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • I am considered an out-of-network provider. That means I don’t work directly with any insurance companies, however you likely have out-of-network benefits and can find out more about what your insurance provides by calling them to inquire. Usually, OON benefits cover a portion of your session costs and reimburse you upon receiving a Superbill which you submit to your insurance company. All sessions are paid by you upfront and you are reimbursed down the road directly through your insurance.

  • $295 initial paperwork and intake session

    $245 per 60-minute ongoing session

  • Everyone’s circumstances are unique to them and the length of time counseling can take to allow you to accomplish your goals depends on your desire for personal development, your commitment, and the factors that are driving you to seek counseling in the first place.

  • You have taken a brave and positive step towards growth and change by deciding to seek therapy. The outcome of your treatment depends largely on your willingness to engage in this process, which may, at times, result in considerable discomfort. Remembering unpleasant events and becoming aware of the feelings attached to those events can bring on strong feelings of anger, depression, anxiety, shame, guilt, etc. There are no miracle cures. I cannot promise that your behavior or circumstance will change. I can promise to support you and do my very best to understand you and your repeating patterns and blind spots, as well as help you clarify what it is that you want for yourself and your life. While working together consistently, therapy can lead to better relationships, solutions to specific problems, greater self-awareness and self-acceptance, and a significant reduction in feelings of distress.

    You will be an active participant in the process of establishing, evaluating, and accomplishing your therapeutic goals. You will be encouraged to communicate your ideas, thoughts, feelings, needs, likes, and dislikes, and by naming and negotiating these aspects of yourself openly and clearly, and by bringing your full attention and awareness to this process, you will be empowered to respect and care for yourself.

  • 60-minute therapy sessions, as well as painting groups, are offered exclusively online. My practice is based in Spokane, WA.

  • I offer every new client a free 20-minute consultation call to determine if we are a good fit. Finding a therapist who “speaks your language” and can meet you where you are is the key to a productive therapeutic journey.

    Reach out to schedule that call here!

  • I have a no-cancellation policy for individual sessions. I am committed to your growth and transformation, and because of this I only see clients at a minimum of weekly, with the option for more! Given 48 hours notice, your session can be rescheduled for the same week or the week after given availability.

  • I sure do! In addition to working with women; I aim to help men find beneficial ways to cope with stress, express their emotions, and improve their communication in relationships.