Therapy is Personal - A Bit About Me

Hi, I’m Derek.

Thanks for visiting my website. I’m a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate in Washington State with a background in existential phenomenology. I work primarily with individuals navigating anxiety, depression, lack of motivation, loss of meaning, life transitions, relationship difficulties, trauma, and grief.

My therapeutic approach is non-directive, client-centered, and grounded in compassion. While I bring a non-judgmental stance to our work, I am not a passive presence in the room. I believe in cultivating a real relationship—with real contact—which sometimes means exploring discomfort. I’ve found that some of the most meaningful growth often arises from those moments.

Alongside my academic training, I bring experience as a yoga teacher, which informs the mindfulness practices I integrate into therapy. I aim to help clients move toward more choice and responsiveness—and less reactivity—in how they relate to themselves and others.

I very much believe what decades of research have shown: that the most reliable predictor of therapeutic success is the strength of the relationship itself. In addition to existential and phenomenological frameworks, I incorporate elements of mindfulness, Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). As an eclectic therapist, I draw from these approaches depending on what’s most helpful for each person I work with.

Outside of therapy, I spend time outdoors climbing, hiking, and snow-sporting, or indoors playing board games and video games. I’m also an avid reader of science fiction and fantasy. Two of my favorite books that also lend themselves to a sense of my worldview are The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - both offer unique lenses on the human experience that I carry into the therapy room.

I am currently practicing under supervision by Mark Goodman, MA, LMHC, LH00010410

My license information: Derek Harris, MA, LMHCA, MC61433827