In-person counseling in Ephrata, Washington and virtual counseling for all of Washington state.

A place to find yourself …

again, or maybe even for the first time.

509-793-0717

Life is full of moments that challenge you…

You’re looking for a place to explore your experiences, ask questions, and discover who you are. You want someone who can sit with you as you tell your story and who will meet you with compassion and without judgment. You’re looking for feedback from a neutral source who can offer a perspective that friends, family, or others may not be able to. You’re motivated to put in the time and effort to find your way through all of this, but you don’t want to do it on your own.

You feel like…

  • Everyone keeps telling you to “get over it,” (whatever “it” is) but you’re still feeling sadness, pain, frustration, anxiety, and more.

  • You don’t know who you are anymore but you’re not sure how to bring it up with family and friends or even what to think or feel about it yourself.

  • Your beliefs, your faith, your community, things you always thought you’d be able to rely on are now different and you’re not sure where you fit in anymore.

  • You’re questioning everything you thought you knew, understood, and relied on in life, but now you’re not sure and you don’t feel you can bring it up with friends, family, or members of your faith community.

  • You’re ready to start building or rebuilding your life, improve your relationships, heal from the past, and flourish.

Together, we'll explore your story and discover a path toward flourishing and resilience.

Welcome. I’m Machelle.

I believe you are doing the best you can, but sometimes we all need a little help to navigate life’s challenges.

I think it is more useful to explore what happened to you rather than focus on what’s wrong with you. We are all doing the best we can given our experiences and the tools and skills we have. Sure, there is always room for growth and improvement, but let’s start from a place of strength and acceptance. I believe you are the expert of yourself and your experiences. I am here to act as a supportive guide working in collaboration with you to discover who you are, what you value, and how we can work together to help you take action and head in the direction you would like to go.

Specializing in…

  • Grief and loss are not limited to the death of a loved one. It can be a breakup, the loss of a home, loss of community, loss of faith, a job, health, a pet, a sense of safety or self. If it feels like you lost something, someone, or some part of you, that is loss.

    No two people experience loss or grieve in the same way and there is no right way to grieve.

    Counseling gives you a safe, judgement-free space to talk about your loss and help you find ways to carry on as well as honor your memories. We focus on skills and tools to help you cope with daily life including how to respond to the well-meaning, but sometimes insensitive platitudes people offer.

    The goal is not to cure your grief, but to help you find a way to carry it and reconnect with yourself and make sense of life without whomever or whatever it is you have lost.

  • Trauma encompasses many issues. An event, relationship, or experience that changes the way you see yourself, others, or the world could be traumatic. Trauma impacts us on many levels including physical, mental, emotional, and our thoughts and beliefs.

    EMDR is a process backed by decades of research. EMDR helps with issues such as trauma, childhood abuse, anxiety, depression, grief, phobias, as well as relationship and performance concerns.

    CPT (cognitive processing therapy) is a structured process that is often used with single event traumas. This approach uses 12 focused sessions to help process a single traumatic event.

    Check out my specialty page for more information about different approaches to trauma that I use in my practice.

  • Our relationships impact every aspect of our lives, especially our mental health. Many of our greatest hurts occur in the context of relationships, but there can also be tremendous healing in relationships as well.

    Working individually or as a couple, we will identify patterns, dynamics, and behaviors that are not working for you, learn new ways of relating and communicating, and address traumatic or adverse relational experiences.

How it Works

01

Reach out

Call, email, or complete the online form. We will set up a 20 minute, no-cost initial consultation. This is an opportunity for you to tell me a little bit more about you and what you are looking for in a counselor, to ask me any questions you might have, and determine if I am a good match for you.

02

Get to work

Sessions are held weekly, or in some instances, every other week. We will take time to discuss your goals and what changes you are hoping for. How long it takes to get to those goals or make those changes will vary. Reflecting on your time in sessions, practicing skills and tools outside of our time together, and other work between sessions will help you along the way and to seeing the changes you desire.

Structured counseling approaches such as EMDR, CPT, and PE are generally completed in 12 to 16 sessions or in an intensive format. We will discuss your options duringin your initial consultation and again during our first session together.

03

See change

Throughout our time together I will check in with you to make sure we are on track with your goals and that you are seeing changes and growth. While counseling may take awhile, the ultimate goal is that you feel you have made enough growth and have enough skills and tools to best live your life and have good relationships. While results are not guarenteed, clients who put in the time, effort, and motivation do see changes and meet their goals. Generally, we move from weekly to every other week sessions to monthly and then end. Some clients like to continue to meet once a month, just to check in. Again, this something we will discuss throughout the counseling process.

Get in touch

Ready to take the next step?

Click this link to set up a day and time for a free, confidential consultation. You will be sent a Zoom link the day before our scheduled consultation. In addition to telling me a bit more about yourself, please feel free to come with any questions you have for me. I look forward to speaking with you.

"Change begins at the end of your comfort zone." – Roy T. Bennett

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"Change begins at the end of your comfort zone." – Roy T. Bennett —