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Alyssa Kirkman

Licensed Mental Health Counselor
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Alyssa Kirkman, MS, LMHC, PMH-C

Licensed Mental Health Counselor
(425) 533-0002

As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, my passion is to help people experience genuine wellness in every area of life. Whether you’re dealing with anxiety, depression, trauma, grief, or you just feel stuck, I believe counseling can be a wonderful tool to help you move forward into growth and positive change. I work with clients to clarify goals, process hurts, and establish realistic plans to cultivate lasting healing and hope. I’d be honored to walk that journey with you.

Kent - Seattle Downtown - Online (WA residence only) - Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu & Fri

About

I deeply value learning each client’s unique story, and I appreciate working side-by-side with them in discovering how to process and rewrite the parts creating barriers to wellness. I enjoy using creativity and variety in the counseling process to meet each client’s individual needs, and I love to see clients find freedom from painful experiences and rediscover what life has to offer for them. I am particularly passionate about working with women going through various life transitions and helping them identify new ways to engage meaningfully with faith and their own personal goals. I am a certified perinatal mental health provider, and have further training in helping women through infertility, miscarriage, and infant loss.

My Goal as a Christian Counselor

My goals as a counselor are to help people find peace and mental wellness through education, skills practice, and processing. I strive to help my clients build insight, self-awareness, and practical skills that will extend beyond the counseling room and help them improve their quality of life.

What I Offer in Christian Counseling

I offer a warm, comfortable setting filled with conversations that deepen self-awareness and process how their past has influenced their present.. Within the first few sessions, we’ll determine a treatment plan, working together to establish goals. I will share effective therapeutic tools and techniques to further the goals of therapy and help each client find wellness and hope.

My Approach to Christian Counseling

I believe it is very difficult to perform effective counseling without addressing a client’s spiritual needs. Approaching my practice from the perspective of Christian or faith-based counseling opens the door for those conversations earlier in the therapeutic relationship. I also believe that God is the ultimate healer. Having therapeutic relationships guided by Him can help my clients reach a more fulfilling sense of peace and mental wellness.

Biography

Qualifications & Experience

I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with experience in treating clients in inpatient and outpatient settings. I have an M.S. and Ed.S. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Harding University. I am trained in CBT, EMDR, and am a certified perinatal mental health provider through Postpartum Support International.

My Call to Christian Counseling

I always knew I wanted to be a healer. Through childhood and into adolescence, this desire transformed from wanting to be a marine biologist, to wanting to be a veterinarian, to wanting to work with people. While I initially thought I would go the route of traditional medicine, life experiences led me towards counseling instead. After spending time as a missionary in the Czech Republic, I became aware of how integral mental health is to overall health and how the church has often forgotten to include mental health conversations as a part of bringing healing to the world. While I still have my love of biology and the sciences and the wonders of nature, counseling is now the specific expression of my vocation.

More About Me/On a Personal Note

My husband and I have been married for nearly a decade and have walked together through international moves, world travel, multiple major life changes, grief, job loss, infertility, and learning to laugh at the ridiculous. We currently have a greyhound named Pax who brings never-ending joy to our lives and who is trained as a therapy animal. I am deeply inspired by art and creative endeavors but persistently lacking talent in them. I spend my free time training Pax, cross-stitching, practicing painting and pottery and piano, and dreaming about having the time and energy to return to camping, hiking, and skiing.

Services and Specialities

Areas of Expertise/Specialties

  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Sexual abuse
  • Trauma
  • Grief and loss
  • Individual counseling
  • Spiritual Development
  • Personal Development
  • Professional Development
  • Women’s Issues

Anxiety

The first step in treating anxiety is to determine what is causing the anxiety. If it is situation specific, we would start by identifying the thoughts behind the anxious feelings. Once those thoughts have been identified, we begin working together to challenge those thoughts. Treatment also may include incorporating behavioral interventions to build up a tolerance, but varies depending on the root cause.

Depression

I offer a variety of approaches to help you overcome the darkness of depression. You don’t need to suffer alone—help is available. Because depression comes in various forms and degrees, in session we’ll begin by discussing your symptoms and the duration of your condition to determine the type of depression you may be facing and its level of severity. From there we’ll establish a treatment plan that best fits your situation and needs. Don’t let depression keep you down; together we can find the way out of the pit of despair so you can once again experience joy and a sense of genuine fulfilment in life.

Sexual Abuse and Trauma

Sexual abuse and trauma can have lasting effects. Often these experiences involve multiple layers that require great care and a significant amount of time to work through properly. In session, I will begin by listening to your story as you’re able to relay it, then determine the best way forward depending on the details of your experience, including how long ago the event or events took place. No matter what your experience has been, it would be my honor and privilege to help you heal. Recovery is possible. Reach out today.

Grief and Loss

Each person’s grief path looks different. There is no wrong way to grieve. Together we’ll work through the range of emotions that accompany grief, as well as discuss how to recognize when a particular emotion or behavior may require some additional exploration. You’ll leave the session equipped with effective coping techniques to help you better manage the grief you feel.

Women’s Issues

Being defined as a Christian woman can often end us up with the labels “wife” and “mother”. While these are valued attributes, they are both limited and do not include the many women who won’t experience those roles. I love working with women through the various life transitions we go through, from singleness to motherhood to menopause. I am a certified perinatal mental health provider, and have experience working with new moms experiencing postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. I am completing a specialization in counseling women who are walking through miscarriage, infant loss, and/or infertility. Further, I am really passionate about helping women in the category of “Childless Not By Choice” as they grieve how they thought their life would go and discover the new paths it can offer. I hold a space for women in my office to express their sorrow and rediscover what a meaningful life could be for them.

Payment and Forms

Sessions: I offer 53-minute sessions. Sessions can be held more than once per week, weekly, or every other week. Scheduling options are discussed in greater detail during your Risk-Free Initial Session.

Availability (by office location):

  • Kent
  • Downtown
  • Online (WA residence only) – Monday, Tuesdays, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

Fees: I offer a Risk-Free Initial Session for Individuals, Couples and Groups looking to pursue counseling with me. Please note that there is a fee for the Risk-Free Initial Session as it is a clinical hour and reimbursable to some insurance companies, but if you choose not to reschedule and continue therapy after the initial session the entire fee for the session will be waived. For ongoing treatment the full fee per session is required at the time of service.

Insurance: As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) a majority of insurance companies will reimburse for a portion of my services (as an Out of Network Provider). Please consult with your insurance provider as to whether they specifically cover adolescents, individuals and couples.

Receipts/Statements: In the event you require a printed or digital receipt, I will provide receipts for personal use, insurance reimbursement, Flex Spending Accounts (FSA), and Health Savings Accounts (HSA).

Payment options: Cash, Check, or Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, & American Express). A fee of up to 3.7% plus $0.15 per transaction will be added for credit card payments.

About Biography Services Payment

Alyssa Kirkman is an incredible therapist. She is exceptionally bright and never ceased to amaze me with the personal research she would do for each client. You aren’t just another “number” or random person in her presence… she truly cares about you as a person and everything she does when you are in her office (and even when you are away from her) reflects that. She is honest and it is so easy for me to trust and respect her–something I cannot say about many people. She is smart and can stick with anything said to her but she is amazingly humble too. I would, without a shadow of a doubt, recommend Alyssa for anyone who needs someone to help guide them onto the road of recovery.