Laura Allan, Counselor in Seattle, 98199

Laura Allan, MA, LMHC

Profession(s):
Counseling, Marriage & Family Therapy, Coaching
License Status:
I'm a licensed professional.
Primary License:
Licensed Mental Health Counselor - LH60183274

My Approach to Helping

I believe therapy (or counseling or coaching) is a collaborative effort to which we both bring valuable skills, knowledge and insight to resolve your concerns. My role is to facilitate and advocate for you in your continued learning and growth, leading to a happier and more fulfilling life.

I understand that each individual's path is different and that your goals are the ultimate priority of our journey together.

Through a safe, therapeutic relationship, you will be assisted in confronting the obstacles and difficulties which have kept your life from reaching its full potential. In a supportive and confidential atmosphere, you will experience a highly personalized approach tailored to meet your needs and help you attain personal growth.

My Role as a Therapist

I believe that my role as a therapist is to facilitate your journey down the path of your own choosing. Lots of times we know where we want to go, but don’t know how to get there. In that case I can help you figure out what you need to do to move forward, and uncover and resolve anything that may be blocking you from getting where you want to go. Other times we may not have a clue where we want to go, but just know that where we are right now isn’t it. When this is the situation, we will work together to discover more about what you do want in your life. In both of these instances I bring skills and tools from my own personal journey, my previous career, my formal education and my experience as a therapist to help you discover where it that you want to go and remove whatever roadblocks are preventing you from moving towards that place.

How My Own Struggles Made Me a Better Therapist

Psychotherapy is a second career for me, and I believe that being older with a lot of life experience definitely makes me a better therapist. I have been a therapy client myself off and on for more than 25 years, and I’ve learned a lot in that process. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to come and see me for 25 years to feel better – that can happen very quickly!) I have a lot of empathy for my clients. In many cases I’ve been in a similar place to where you are now. I know what it’s like, I know how bad it can feel, and I know that there is hope for it to be better because I’ve been there. Additionally, I can call on my own personal experience of what helped me, not just rely on theory. Combined with my education and experience as a therapist, this gives me quite a bag of tricks to pull from to find an approach to help you get going in the direction you want to be.