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Areas of Focus

* Interpersonal relationships
* Men’s issues
* Depression
* Anxiety
* Life transitions
* Motivation and meaning-making
* Trauma
* Grief
* Mindfulness

Therapy Styles & Modalities

* Existential Phenomenology
* Humanistic
* Client-Centered / Focused
* Psychodynamic
* Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
* Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Individual Therapy

Oftentimes, people come to therapy because something doesn’t seem quite right. Sometimes they’re encouraged by others, other times it is an experience that they’ve felt within themselves. Sometimes it’s a recent change, others it is something that has stuck around for a long time. Typically, it’s the end of a long road of questioning: Am I okay? What’s going on with me? How can I feel better? What does better even look like? Is there anyone that can help me? Finding a therapist and starting therapy can feel like driving down a dark road without any lights on. Individual therapy is a unique experience with each person and I will approach our work together with respect for that uniqueness. Sometimes therapy is short-term, concise, and direct; other times it can be long-term, broad, and structural. In our initial sessions together we’ll explore together what your hopes for therapy are and what that path might look like for us.

I work with folks that experience anxiety, depression, lack of motivation, loss of meaning, life transitions, difficulty with relationships, trauma, and grief. Throughout therapy, I weave in aspects of mindfulness with a movement towards empowering my clients with more choice and responsiveness and less reactivity in their interactions with themselves and others.

Therapy is not for every moment and every situation.  There are many ways to heal and grow and therapy is one path of many.  When both therapist and client are aligned in mutual understanding and the fit feels right, therapy can be a powerful tool for self-discovery towards living a more effective and meaningful life.

Group Therapy

I am an avid and ardent supporter of group therapy. I have seen first-hand the power of growth within a group setting. It can be tremendously validating to share experiences with similarly like-minded individuals and to feel truly seen, possibly for the first time. The type of groups that I run are process groups. A process group is an experiential, unstructured (without a specific topic each week) group where members are welcome to bring any issues to the group that they feel are important. The primary focus of therapy in the group is on the interactions amongst group members; members are encouraged to provide support and feedback to others, whilst working on the reactions and responses that other members bring up for them.  If you’re interested in attending group therapy with me, please reach out to discuss further.

Current group offerings:

Weekly process group, Tuesdays 5:30 - 7:00pm. Email for availability. What is a process group? Click here for information.


1728 East Madison Street

Seattle WA, 98122

Phone: 206.201.1865

Email: derek@harrispsychotherapy.com