My approach to working with individuals and couples is collaborative. I believe the client brings wisdom and insight about their own needs and patterns. I appreciate the emergent and organic processes that occur in therapy. I want clients to explore what they feel compelled to share and process. I balance that need with clear and defined treatment goals that build self-efficacy, authenticity, a greater ability to work through distress, stronger relational patterns, and greater dexterity in knowing both the self and important others. I am versed in a lot of therapeutic modalities, including psychoanalysis, existential therapy, ACT, DBT, MBSR, CPT, exposure therapies, and couples and relational therapy. I tailor my approach and conceptualization to the needs and effectiveness of each client or couple.

I am a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with over 33 years of experience helping individuals, couples, and families from a broad range of ethnic, cultural, physical health, gender, socio-economic and sexual diversity. My experience includes many persons and families challenged by high conflict and multiple interlaced problems. I have extensive experience helping children, teens, and adults struggling with anxiety, depression, and the impact of grief, trauma and challenging relationships andor a family member's chemical dependency. My work is focused on helping relationships function well, whether I am assisting individuals, couples or families. My commitment is to listening closely and finely adapting my work to the unique person coming in for help. I use a variety of approaches that are collaborative and respect the inner knowing and ability of the client. Empowerment & respect are very important features of my approach. I also offer consultation and supervision to other professional therapists and have done so for 27 years.

MindRoot Institute is led by Dr. Krystel Salandanan, a licensed neuropsychologist with specialized training in neurodevelopmental assessment and complex psychological presentations. We serve individuals across the lifespan navigating ADHD, autism spectrum conditions, learning differences, executive functioning challenges, and other neurodevelopmental profiles, while also assessing social, emotional, and personality functioning. Services are offered in person in our Seattle office. Intake and feedback appointments are conducted through our secure remote platform. At MindRoot Institute, every mind is a good mind. Our mission is to help individuals understand how their brains work, empowering insight, growth, and well-being. MindRoot Institute recognizes that each mind is dynamic, shaped by lived experience, relationships, culture, and the systems that surround it. This philosophy guides every evaluation and interaction. MindRoot Institute’s approach is deeply integrated and grounded in global and multicultural perspectives. Identity is understood as inseparable from cognition, development, and functioning. Assessments synthesize cognitive, academic, executive, and emotional data into cohesive, personalized reports that translate findings into clear, practical recommendations for home, school, and broader life contexts. MindRoot Institute is committed to delivering fully integrated, actionable reports within two weeks because meaningful clarity should not have to wait.

If you are experiencing persistent anxiety, chronic worry and unease, or the fatigue of depression that diminishes your sense of the future, you are seeking help beyond skills and advice. The distress you feel may be connected to addiction, relationship ruptures, complex trauma, long-term burnout, or the aftermath of sudden life transitions— or even relates back to moments in your childhood. I offer virtual psychoanalytic sessions to individuals across Washington, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Georgia. We begin with the unconditional welcome to speak what feels most real for you—freely, gradually, and without censorship. Dreams, fantasies, passions, and memories. Crises, complaints, and those stagnating repetitions that always return. You are invited to read deeply into yourself and to voice the 'other scenes' that appear between the lines of daily experience. We will take what troubles you and opens its interior dimensions through the spoken encounter of each session. This depth-oriented approach calls into question the very causes of your distress. Over time, this sustained discovery gives rise to renewed energy and singular knowledge of oneself, making possibilities for desire to be woven into your life in creative ways. If you are ready to invest in lasting change and bring new choices within reach, contact me today.

Compassion comes with knowledge and self-understanding. It is my belief that when we are not living a life that is true to who we are, we aren't able to make our lives fulfilling or enjoyable. Our culture presents us with many pressures and conflicting messages that we struggle to manage. I help people identify and build on their unique values and strengths. I believe that when you live authentically, you are more resistant to feelings of unhappiness, anxiety, and relationship struggles because you will have learned to respect and support your unique self. I believe in helping people in a thorough and holistic manner. In addition to exploring short-term solutions, I will help you understand the source of your feelings or frustrations and develop a sense of self-mastery and self-compassion. Equipped with a core understanding of self, we will create and work towards your life goals. I believe in a "bottom, up" approach because I feel that it is essential to creating stable, long-lasting change. My work with couples and families is also holistic in manner. I strive to champion the individual and joint strengths in order to address relationship challenges. Through various mechanisms, I aim to help couples recover the aspects of their relationship that brought them together, heal wounds from past hurts, and learn new ways of relating that will move them forward with strength. Life changes such as cohabitation and children can be wonderful and also necessitate changes that can lead to stress, frustration, and relationship dissatisfaction. I help my clients regain balance in their lives so they can more fully enjoy each chapter. My approach to counseling and therapy draws on a number of different techniques and I recognize that everyone has a unique story to tell. Unfortunately, social attitudes towards things like gender, sexual orientation, substance abuse, or family situations can make someone afraid to speak out. I will support and nurture you regardless of culture, gender, sexual orientation, or background. I strive to provide a safe and welcoming environment, free of judgment. Transparency and directness are two important things that I practice. I will give you feedback and communicate with you in a supportive way. I believe that the best therapy happens when there is collaboration and communication. To learn more about the specific techniques I use, please visit my website.

No matter what you’re going through, whether it be life transitions, anxiety, grief, or depression, there is hope. Using pieces of traditional therapies, I hope to create a unique therapy experience for all of my clients. Through a collaborative effort, I like to have my clients leave feeling driven and accomplished. Let’s also not forget to insert playfulness wherever we can. Forming connection is a huge part of life. In the room, I’ve found its beneficial for my clients to notice how they create (or isolate from) connection. Using wonder and inquiry, I explore as much as I can about you. Tell me the details that make you. I work well with young adults and couples going through life changes and those suffering with depression, anxiety, hyperkinetic behaviors, perfectionism behaviors, obsessional thinking, grief, and loss. Please, connect with me to set up a session today!

You are already the expert on yourself. I want to understand who you are today, what brought you here, what makes you you. As a humanistic psychotherapist, I seek to understand your unique experience in the world and tailor the therapy to best suit your needs. Successful therapy depends on a strong relationship between client and therapist, I make sure to nurture this bond by co-creating a safe and supportive environment with you. As your guide and advocate, I’ll help you to develop the insight, curiosity, and courage to create the life you want, whether you are looking to reduce anxiety, feel more joy, or reduce suffering from a past experience. I help you to develop a heightened sense of self-awareness, extension of compassion for self and others, and love for your past, present, and future self. If you are facing sadness, anxiety, trauma, dependence, finding and contacting a therapist is a likely daunting process and takes courage! You are already closer to living your fullest life and truest self by acknowledging you need to look for a therapist and currently find yourself reading this page.

I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) specializing in telehealth eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy for women healing from trauma and posttraumatic stress (PTSD). I provide a safe, supportive space where you can process difficult experiences within a caring and trusting therapeutic relationship. I welcome a diverse range of clients, including LGBTQ+ individuals and cultural and religious minorities. I am committed to creating an inclusive, affirming environment for all. What I Help With I regularly work with clients navigating the effects of: Childhood trauma and attachment wounds Sexual assault and abuse Motor vehicle accidents and medical trauma Prenatal and postpartum trauma Anxiety, panic attacks, and phobias Depression and low self-esteem Disturbing memories that feel “stuck” I also enjoy working with helping professionals, including counselors, nurses, and teachers, who are processing their own trauma histories.

About My Clients: I love to work with clients who really want to be done with their suffering, but don’t know how to do that. I integrate EMDR with Alison Teal’s Super Resourcing, a close cousin to EMDR that combines powerful resourcing and Parts work to achieve deep healing of your wounds. Background and Approach: In working with clients with trauma in their backgrounds – and many people have several – I use a process that’s tailored to each client. We’ll pay close attention to the pace of work that’s right for you. We’ll work together to develop your ability to be mindfully present and peaceful in your daily life. We can look at the coping tools you’ve been using, and look for ways to make them more adaptive for your present life. We can use some powerful tools to strengthen your internal resources. All these methods work to help you be well-grounded more often, in more situations, even in stressful times. Trauma work doesn’t have to be as painful as you might imagine, and I’ll be with you helping find ways to make it as gentle as possible. EMDR, integrated with Super Resourcing and Parts work, can help you stay within your range of emotional tolerance. Overall the aim is to balance progress with gentleness. Personal Beliefs: I am a longtime ally of People of Color, women, LGBTQIA people, and I support social, economic, and environmental justice. I believe that deep down, we are meant to exist in community and connection. I strongly believe in everyone’s inherent right to discover who they are, and to live their fullest life.

I help people in Seattle and across Washington with anxiety, burnout, trauma, perfectionism and eating disorder recovery. I view therapy as a collaborative, client-driven process guided by your goals and pace. My role is to offer insight, gentle challenge, and support as you navigate life’s complexities and reconnect with your inner wisdom. My approach is warm, calm, and integrative, helping you cultivate self-compassion, release old patterns, and build a life that feels authentic and aligned with your values. I draw from holistic and evidence-based practices, including polyvagal theory, parts work (internal family systems, IFS), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), somatic approaches, attachment theory, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), to support healing through the mind-body connection.

My approach is centered in helping people integrate what they have experienced in their lives to better understand their strengths and resilience in making next choices and accepting what has gone before. I believe in a person's natural drive to heal; physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. People experience anger, self-doubt, grief, trauma, depression; it is call from your soul to look within and grow. Emotional turmoil is grist for the mill of our heart asking us to better care for ourselves and to lead a more authentic life. Therapy provides a place and time for honoring that growth. It is a place where your pain and growth is held in safety and with respect.