Therapy Review Form (pdf format) ~ My Theory of Choice (an old & still relevant college paper) ~ Paying for Counseling, etc.
Resources, etc. ~ What to Expect from your Licensed Mental Health Counselors (pdf format - from WA State Dept. of Health)
Contact Me ~ Gabi Clayton (My personal website & lots of resources.)
  I'm a Licensed Mental
Health Counselor
Washington License #LH00005056 I believe that the work of therapy is about developing a healthy relationship with oneself and with other people in the community in order to live a good and meaningful life. It is about finding ways to live in balance and with integrity in what can be a complicated and difficult world. I believe that it is my role to create a safe space for my clients to do their work, to support and challenge the individual, couple, family or group toward growth and their goals. Each session is a special time – a precious gift clients give themselves to work toward health and balance, and it is my job to facilitate, honor and protect that. I believe I can sometimes see things as an outsider that the client misses or may have lost sight of. My approach is eclectic/humanistic talk and expressive process-based counseling from an Existential Psychology framework. In a graduate school class on individual counseling I was asked to write a paper about my "theory of choice/philosophy of human nature." I wrote "My Theory of Choice." It still makes a lot of sense to me and it tells you something about how I see things. I work with clients on a variety of issues including post-trauma (hate crimes and other situation-related trauma) stress and depression, grief and loss, activist or caretaker stress, burnout and compassion fatigue, relationship/communication issues, sexual orientation and gender identity issues, life transitions, family of origin issues, and personal growth. I work with adults and teenage individuals, couples, families and small groups. I am forming Cradled Heart, a therapist facilitated support group for activists, social service folks, educators, etc. regarding burnout, compassion fatigue and wellness. I am a founding member of Gender Spectrum Think Tank, a therapist consultation group that supports, educates, refers and advocates to improve services in our transgender, gender variant and gender queer communities. As a licensed professional mental health counselor I am committed to promoting and increasing your mental health through our collaborative efforts.
courage
~ integrity
~ tenacity
~ inspiration
~ awareness
These are some of the qualities of good mental health.
My office hours are by
appointment.
My
office is in my home on the east side of Olympia. I
have cats which can be a problem for people with allergies.
I don't bill insurance companies. I may be able
to slide my fee.
Contact me
if you have any questions.
The
initial paperwork for when I see a new client
(pdf
format) includes For Your Information,
Counseling Agreement, Client and Counselor Responsibilities and Rights,
and my Intake Form.
Duration and frequency of therapy? It takes different amounts of time depending on the person(s) and the issues. It also depends on what else is going on your life - healing doesn't happen in a vacuum! I often recommend that clients come to see me every week or two in the beginning, and less often as it progresses - ending the work when it is the right time which is determined by the client. I hope to have a closing session when that happens.
This beautiful song "Simple
Truth" by Eve Decker
speaks to much of my approach to counseling and to health in general: Please be aware that as a mental health counselor, there are some things such as abuse that I might be required to report. If you have a question about this see my inital paperwork or ask me about it.
M.A., Counseling Psychology;
Saint Martin's College, Lacey, WA - May 1993 (now re-named
Saint Martin's University)
Coursework:
Marriage and Family Therapy, Child and Adolescent Counseling, Abusive
Relationships, Treatment of Gender and Ethnicity Issues, Individual
Counseling, Group Counseling, Crisis Intervention, Assessment and
Treatment Planning, Psychopathology, Mental Health Consultation,
Community Psychology.
Internship/Practicum: A 600 hour internship at the Center for Individual and Family Counseling. Provided individual and family therapy with a variety of clients for sexual abuse, parenting, family of origin, anger management, children's divorce issues. Co-facilitated group therapy for sexually abused children and adolescents, adult survivors of sexual abuse, and parents of sexually abused children. Did administrative work and special projects, including the planning and promotion of a series of professional workshops held in several regional communities. B.A., Liberal Arts; The Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA - June 1989 - with an emphasis in Art and Film/Video Production and Animation Galileo Vocational Nursing Program; San Francisco, CA - 1970-1971 Mission High School, San Francisco, CA - graduated 1970
SPECIALIZED TRAINING & CONTINUING EDUCATION (a partial list)
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