My name is Isabel Slaney and I am a Counseling Psychologist, Holistic Trauma Therapist and Artist.

• I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate in the state of Washington. I earned my Masters degree in Counseling Psychology at The Seattle School with a concentration in Trauma and Abuse. I’ve completed advanced training with The Allender Center (an organization that specializes in healing from trauma, childhood sexual abuse and spirtual abuse) in the model of therapy known as Narrative Focused Trauma Care. This is a process of integrating our abusive experiences through the telling of our stories to a compassionate guide and witness. I continue to expand my experience and training as a volunteer at a charity called Azalea where I work on a team supporting women who have been impacted by sex trafficking, childhood sexual abuse, and adverse events in a recovery-focused project. I love getting to be with the women, drinking tea and eating biscuits together (or cookies as we Americans say), laughing, making art and providing support and containment for whatever they bring to the group. 

• I am an artist and an advocate for staying human in a dehumanizing world—of finding balance, peace, of enjoying our one short life and of relational connection, beginning with the relationship we have with ourselves. There is a lot that can get in the way of this. I am committed to advocate for you and your life.

• My journey to becoming a therapist comes out of my own experience of feeling like I was falling apart. I did all the things I was supposed to—I got a college education, a good job, and was in a relationship headed towards marriage when I began to realize my soul was still bleeding and I was trapped in a life that wasn’t mine but what was expected of me. I had spent my life running away from my childhood pain, stuck in perfectionism, overfunctioning, anxiety, and depression and my body finally said no more. Out of desperation, I sought help. For years, I thought I had put the past behind me, but my body held it all. This eventually manifested through debilitating chronic pain and two autoimmune diseases. What I thought was the end of my life turned out to be an opportunity to build something new, on a solid foundation. My therapist saw me, contained me, and accepted me for who I was. She helped me to connect with me. In our work together, as I embraced my limitations, practiced self compassion, and began to mourn my losses and my experiences of pain, I began to heal, to create, and to dream. This is my hope for YOU.

• As part of my work, I invite you into a place of re-membering the parts of you that have been lost and to re-embody your most authentic self. The purpose of my work is not to impose my own sense of health and well-being but to help you find yours.

• I identify as a cis, neuro-divergent, differently abled, mixed-Salvadoran American woman of color.

• I find myself deeply curious about what living well looks like for different people and how our early relationships and experiences, context, and intergenerational inheritance can support or hinder our ability to enjoy our lives. 

• In my free time, I love spending time with my partner and our two dogs, and with my friends and family. I like to bake cakes and cookies, listen to music, drink soy flat whites, cuddle my dogs, and read a good fantasy novel. I also enjoy traveling, being in nature, and playing outside! I LOVE good food and have been plant-based for 12 years! I am passionate about all realms of health and well-being. I love to ponder and explore what the good life is for me across each season and enjoy a simple and slow life.