- Teletherapy/Virtual Sessions
- Washington
I came to this work the long way around. I work with adults for whom the usual ways of coping have stopped doing the job.
My interest in psychology began in high school, with the existential and humanistic psychology books my mom brought home from work, which tackled whopping themes like existence, meaning, and the universals and varieties of human experience. As a curious kid turned broody teenager, I was enthralled. I went off to college as a psychology major and found that the psychology there wasn’t asking those questions, so I moved to philosophy, the only department on campus still asking the eternal ones, and found my way back to psychology in graduate school, through programs with a holistic, philosophically grounded approach.
I knew by the end of my master’s that I wanted to be a therapist, and I knew just as clearly that I wasn’t ready yet. I needed more education, more involvement in the field, and more life experience first, so I went on to earn a doctorate. My commitment deepened during those years, when my husband and I went through infertility and loss, and my own experience of therapy taught me what it means to not know, to come undone, and to be held through it rather than fixed. I carry that into the room with every client.
What brings people to me varies. For some it’s an anxiety that has hummed along without ever fully explaining itself, for others a passage that brought it to the surface, or patterns that go way back. Therapy with me is collaborative and unhurried. My approach is depth-oriented and relational, within an existential-humanistic and psychodynamic frame, and I draw on ACT, mindfulness, and attention to the body when they serve you. The aim is to help you relate differently to what you’re carrying, until your life feels like your own.
I believe in the resilience of human beings, even in the face of life’s inherent challenges, paradoxes, and uncertainties, and in each person’s capacity for self-knowledge and responsible self-direction within sincere and supportive connection. I also believe that not everything that hurts is a problem inside you.
Outside the office, I garden, cook, hike, and spend time with my husband, our twins, and our rescue dog, Roxy.
A note on finding the right therapist: Research suggests that the single greatest predictor of a successful outcome in therapy is the quality of the relationship between you and your therapist, so I encourage you to talk with as many therapists as it takes to find someone you connect with, whether or not that’s me. If what you’ve read here resonates, I offer a free 15-minute consultation as an easy way to find out if we mesh well. You can read more about my work at grandenpsychotherapy.com.
- Ph.D. Psychology, University of West Georgia
- M.Psy. Psychology, University of Dallas
- B.A. Philosophy, Southwestern University
- Adults
- Anxiety
- Caregiver Stress
- Childhood Trauma
- Depression
- Divorce
- Family/Peer Relationship Issues
- Grief and Loss
- Infertility
- Interpersonal Relationships
- Life Changes
- Life Transitions
- Miscarriage
- Parenting Support
- Relationship Issues
- Self-Esteem
- Women’s Issues
- Existential therapy
- Depth-oriented psychotherapy
- Psychodynamic therapy
- Questions of meaning and purpose
- Family-of-origin patterns (e.g., adult children of emotionally immature parents)
- Burnout
- Over-functioning and the "responsible one" role
- Role shifts and identity after major life changes
- Midlife and aging
- Aetna
- Self-Pay
- Regence
- Carelon
- Additional insurers coming soon
- Male
- Female
- Cisgender
- Transgender
- Non-Binary
- Gender Fluid
- Buddhist
- Christian
- Hindu
- Jewish
- Muslim
- Secular and Non-Religious
- Sikh
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
- White
- Black and African American
- Hispanic and Latino
- Asian
- Native American
- Pacific Islander
- Asexual
- Bisexual
- Gay
- Heterosexual
- Intersex
- Lesbian
- Pansexual
- Polysexual
- Queer
- Questioning
- Sexual Fluidity