Stephanie Sisson, Clinical Social Worker in Seattle, 98112

Stephanie Sisson, MSW, LICSW

Profession(s):
Clinical Social Work
License Status:
I'm a licensed professional.
Primary License:
LICSW - LW00008225

My Approach to Helping

Do you feel stuck? Are you tired of feeling sad, angry or numb? Does it feel like your life is just not working or that something is keeping you from being the person you want to be? Humans are naturally resilient and have an inherent capacity for healing . . . and we all go through times where it doesn't really feel like that. It can be helpful to have someone who can listen, see things from a different perspective and provide guidance to help you make the changes you so desperately want. Even if your difficulties seem too overwhelming to talk about or the idea of therapy seems scary, we can be effective in a very gentle way. And we don't necessarily have to "talk about stuff" to do that; we can use mindfulness and body awareness in the present moment to create new ways of responding to experiences. I want to help you know that you can handle life and you can make your life be what you want it to be.

More Info About My Practice

Over the last 15 plus years have worked with kids, teens and adults facing all kinds of conditions and challenges. I enjoy connecting with people and helping them feel more okay being who they are. Acceptance, paradoxically, is the first step toward change.

Important Factors for Choosing a Therapist

More important than anything else is that you feel comfortable with the therapist, including feeling like you can say things about what you like and don't like in the session, say no, ask questions. Without a sense of trust and a mutual feeling of respect, it is hard to do the work. You are doing this for you, so any judgment or agenda from the therapist is not helpful. And obviously, it is good to find someone who knows what they are doing and is tracking progress, making sure things are moving forward (even if the steps are small).

What I Say to People Concerned about the Therapy Process

We go slow and build your capacity to handle difficult emotions or sensations in a gradual way. Pushing you past your point of tolerance moves us backward not forward, so we want to help you grow on a timeline that works for your system. That being said, you should be able to feel progress--I don't want you to believe that our work is helping you, I want you to experience it.