• "In 17(!?) years of therapy, working with you is the most impactful experience I have had. You offered a safe place for me to be honest, curious, and reflective, to connect to and honor my body, my spirit, and my neurocomplex brain. In our time working together, I navigated a life-altering job transition, progressed in my gender journey, and connected to deep feelings of self-worth and gratitude again. I was able to be profoundly honest with you and myself, as I trusted you to guide, support, and challenge me appropriately."

    Unsolicited testimonial from client
    (shared with permission)

Theoretical Approaches

Somatic

First and foremost, I do not buy into the duality of body and mind. While the things that have traditionally been associated with the mind—beliefs, stories, thoughts at large—are valuable, they do not operate in a vacuum separate from our bodies—nerves, muscles, organismic impulses and needs. My theoretical foundation is with schools of Western somatics, although I value and incorporate the wisdom of worldviews from across the globe that have long traditions of body-based healing. My practice of somatics emphasizes the importance of our bodily sensations, breath, and movement. I also incorporate EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) into sessions, which I find helps to metabolize charge efficiently.

Relational

Counseling is not about me, and yet there I am, for every minute of every session. Recognizing the counseling dynamic as an important relationship plays out in several ways. It means having a consultation call to make sure we are a good fit. It also means that I may have to earn your trust before you feel safe, or I may share my own emotional reactions in session when helpful. Challenges that you encounter in your daily relationships may arise between you and I, and we’ll talk about that!

Feminist

As an intersectional feminist counselor I acknowledge that cultural forces and constructs, such as gender and race, operate on an axis of power and oppression that contribute to individual and collective experiences of injury. Addressing intersectional layers of identity and history is an important part of my feminist approach. As a white, able-bodied, queer person that is part of a capitalist healthcare structure, I am not immune from these systems, and we may discuss how your and my identities interact with one another, and how your individual intersections are impacted at large. I am always seeking to actively decolonize my practice and my person.

Get to know me more

〰️

Get to know me more 〰️

Anya is smiling at the camera in front of a colorful mural. They have a turquoise mullet, silver hoop earrings, and a bright red button-up.

I identify as a gender-fluid person and my pronouns are they/them. I’ve lived in the Pacific Northwest just about my whole life, and I have a deep love for the land I’m a visitor on. I pay Real Rent to the Duwamish tribe, whose present and ancestral land I currently live, love, and work on.

Some things that make me feel grateful to be alive are: close cribbage games, disco balls, live music, learning new languages, and being in the forest. I really want to learn how to sew my own clothes. I’ll get around to it one day…

I’ve worked as a barista, a program coordinator for public health programs, a housing case manager for folks living with HIV, and residential counselor at a drug treatment center for women facing incarceration. I received my BA in Psychology in 2015, and MA in Professional Mental Health Counseling (with a specialization in Addictions) in 2022. I am a Professional Counseling Associate in the state of Oregon, and a Licensed Mental Health Counseling Associate in the state of Washington, receiving supervision from Roza Skenderova, LPC/LMHC.

I have pursued continual education in Somatic Psychotherapy, the Alexander Technique, and Somatic Internal Family Systems. I draw upon the work of Wilhelm Reich, Resmaa Menakem, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Mariame Kaba, Peter Levine, and many others as I develop my practice, and count each of these people as a part of my professional lineage.