Theresa Summer, LMHC

You’re in the right place.

In-person therapy sessions offered in the Thurston/Mason County, Washington areas and telehealth offered for Washington State residents.

Consultation and coaching offered in Washington and beyond (see services page).

“People leave traces of themselves where they feel most comfortable, most worthwhile.” ― Haruki Murakami

Unsure?

Being skeptical about therapy is really common.

Talking to someone else about your challenges can feel daunting. It could even feel like you are failing at life. Therapy is where we go when we need to sharpen our tools – or get new ones; where we can go to face the realities of life when they are too much to face on our own. It’s where we go when we feel unsure of our next steps; to find someone who can sit with us and our experiences for a bit without getting stuck.

I believe in the benefits of therapy. I’ve felt the benefits of therapy. The combination of individual life circumstances and the humanness of both client and therapist– plus training and experience create a skillful alliance that transcends life’s challenges.

About me:

Hello! I’m Terri.

I’m a mental health professional practicing in Washington State.

I’ve been a therapist for over a decade providing services for adults and children from East Coast to West, and from so many walks of life. I have worked in the areas of adolescent crisis, hospice and bereavement counseling, PTSD and CPTSD, mid-life anxiety and transitions, phobias, and relational communication/conflict resolution.

Although I have training in many modalities, my foundation is relational therapy. I’ve found that CBT, DBT, exposure therapy, IFS, EFT, and the like must start with a client being willing to believe that they *deserve* to devote time and effort to themselves. Being interested in people helps them be interested in themselves. Not self-focused, but invested. Investment = lasting solutions.

My hopes as a therapist:

As a therapist, my aim is to help others realize that they can feel different in their lives without big, chaotic decision-making. Huge changes are bold and they take bravery, but are often unsustainable without foundational pieces of decision-making; pieces like informed choice, creativity, and agency.

I want to help people clearly identify what they can do about what might be troubling them, and to identify for themselves when it is time to stop wrestling with a circumstance they cannot control. I help others get their foundation solid, so they can go, confidently, wherever life calls them.

My counseling methods are grounded in the transformative nature of relational therapy. I support that with a deep respect for autonomy and therapeutic use of humor.

This is Shilo. She’s a 6 year old Border Collie. She’s worked for over 4 years as my co-therapist, participating in sessions to help clients emotionally regulate and to discover how our presence and communication styles can affect and influence those around us.

I only bring Shilo into sessions with permission from the client.

Who might like this style?

  • People who feel disempowered or disenfranchised (unheard)
  • Parents who struggle to understand their children’s choices and behaviors.
  • Healthcare professionals, first responders, veterans…those who carry the daily weight of serving others
  • Middle-aged adults coming to terms with aging, caregiving, or facing life transitions
  • Those living with chronic and terminal illness
  • Older adolescents and their families, trying to navigate the challenges of responsibility, communication, and developmental empowerment

I am a trauma-informed practitioner. Being trauma-informed is vital for therapeutic alliance. Physical trauma, emotional trauma, generational trauma….all trauma, it wires us to adapt for survival, which often creates barriers to the things we truly want in our lives.

If you are feeling like you didn’t choose your life, or that you might be powerless to do anything about it, I might be a good fit for you. You don’t have to go it alone.

Why not start now?

Get in touch: terri@summerserviceswa.com
(256) 580-6006

Tired from holding it all together?

Maybe there is a different way.

terri@summerserviceswa.com
256-580-6006