Welcome to Star Meadow Counseling!
At Star Meadow Counseling, we provide evidenced-based therapy with warmth and compassion. Our caring team of counselors in Vancouver, WA, believes in empowering every individual to unlock their potential and embrace positive change. Through a supportive environment and practical tools, we guide our clients towards a brighter future, where improved moods, enriched relationships, and personal fulfillment are within reach.
Discover Counseling Services Tailored to You
Our counseling services cater to adults and teens facing a spectrum of life challenges. Whether it’s healing from complex trauma, coping with anxiety or depression, managing anger, or tackling career and educational hurdles, we’re here to help you not just alleviate immediate pain, but to empower you to lead a fulfilling life.
Your Therapy Journey Starts Here
- Enhance your sense of self-worth and rediscover joy in life, breaking free from the grips of DEPRESSION.
- Conquer your fears and find solace from ANXIETY, experiencing a newfound sense of courage and empowerment.
- Embrace the present moment and embark on a journey of healing from past TRAUMA, nurturing inner peace and resilience.
- Foster a positive relationship with your BODY and cultivate self-acceptance through a Health at Every Size perspective.
- Discover a nurturing environment where you can authentically express yourself and receive unwavering support and warmth.
Experience the transformative power of therapy as you embark on a journey of self-discovery and growth with us. Our dedicated counselors employ a range of evidence-based techniques, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS), Solution-Focused Therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR). Each counselor brings their own unique specialization and approach, ensuring you receive tailored support that resonates with your needs.
Commitment to Anti-Oppressive Practices
At Star Meadow Counseling, we’re committed to fostering a safe and inclusive space for everyone. We recognize the impact of systemic oppression on mental health and strive to uphold anti-oppressive practices in our counseling approach. We honor and affirm individuals from all backgrounds, identities, and lived experiences, ensuring that our therapy is sensitive, respectful, and empowering for all.
Offering In-Person and Telehealth Appointments
Counseling appointments are now more accessible than ever! All of our counselors offer video therapy options.
- You can do telehealth from your smart phone, tablet, or computer with webcam.
- Do therapy from your home, car, office, or backyard. You can do therapy anywhere you can access the Internet and maintain privacy.
- Get access to quality mental health care without the commute.
- Use your insurance to cover appointments!
*Some therapists do not have in-person options. Call to inquire!
7 Ways Counseling Helps You Get Unstuck
Do you ever feel like a hamster on a wheel—as if you are going through the motions of life, but not actually moving forward?
People often come to counseling when they are in this state of stuck-ness. Here’s how we’ve heard clients describe their personal brand of “stuck”:
- Losing motivation
- Constant ruminating
- Living in the past (or future)
- Indecisiveness—No “good” options
- “I’ve tried everything.”
- Compulsive habits (followed often by guilt or shame)
- Ambivalence about change
- Fear
Here are seven strategies that a counselor might use to help you break out of the hamster wheel (and the cage too).
1. OBJECTIVE FEEDBACK
A counselor is a neutral (and non-judgmental) observer who listens carefully as you tell your story. When strong emotions have you stuck at ground-level, a counselor is like a helicopter hovering above, helping you build a bigger picture of your surroundings. As long as you are open to gentle (or sometimes hard-hitting) feedback, counselors will help you build awareness of your own blind spots.
In uncovering blind spots, the why, how, when, what, and who is very important for both the client and the counselor to understand what’s going on. Counseling is not a simple as “If X, then Y.” Counseling is a process of identifying patterns of behavior, learning new habits, adjusting to a new normal, learning from setbacks, finding support, getting some success, and maintaining new, healthy behaviors.
2. CLARIFICATION OF INTERNAL CONFLICTS
A counselor will help you clearly identify the barriers standing between you and change. You can push the gas pedal on a broken car as much as you want, but until you attune to the mechanics of what’s gone awry, the car will not be moving forward.
Barriers might be pragmatic (“I can’t leave my job because I need the money”), based on conflicted values (“I don’t want to lie anymore, but I can’t hurt their feelings”), emotion-driven (“Even the idea is overwhelming”), or derived from ingrained negative beliefs about yourself, others, or your environment.
Sometimes barriers are external, like an over-demanding workplace or a highly critical family member. External barriers may also include experiences of bias, discrimination, and systemic oppression. In counseling, you will create tailor-made solutions for understanding and overcoming the barriers between you and your goals.
3. COGNITIVE RE-FRAMING
Negative thoughts that happen repeatedly, day after day, can become a part of your belief system about how the world works. Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, your counselor will help you:
- Stop negative thought cycles
- Improve problem-solving
- Challenge self-defeating thoughts
- Try out behaviors that might promote a more positive or neutral thought process
4. A FOCUS ON THE HERE-AND-NOW
Sometimes we ask counseling clients to create a pie chart, breaking down the content of their distress thoughts by percentage:
- % of thoughts about the past
- % of thoughts about the future; and
- % of thoughts about the present (i.e. this very second in time).
Often, only a small percentage of the distress is happening at this exact moment. A counselor can show you strategies for containing overwhelming thoughts and feelings so that you access them only during certain times (and not all day long). Counselors can also help you learn mindfulness, grounding, and other coping skills that can be incredibly relieving for those stuck in grief, trauma, or fear.
5. BUILT-IN ACCOUNTABILITY
6. OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY IT OUT
7. AUTHENTIC SUPPORT
What common questions might a therapist ask to authentically get to know you?
- A counselor will ask you why you’ve come, what you’re wanting help with, and how long the struggle has been happening.
- A counselor might ask what steps you’ve already taken and what strengths you bring to the table.
- A counselor might ask about your family history, relationship patterns, marital concerns, or kids.
- A counselor might inquire about medical history, substance use, socialization, and school or work life.
Our counselors care about the unique details of your life. These details help your counselor to understand the context of your problem so that they can offer the best support possible.
Counselors know the right questions to ask. They are adept at listening to understand, not to judge or condemn. They can tease out hidden assumptions, provide insightful feedback, and offer creative and helpful suggestions.
We’ve had countless clients tell us how good it feels to finally be “understood” and “heard” by a counselor.
ARTICLES & INFORMATION
Our mental health focused blog contains useful tips for improving your emotional health and relationships. You will find practical advice on a variety of topics.
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Star Meadow Counseling
Provides Therapy Services to:
Vancouver WA | Salmon Creek WA | Ridgefield WA | Woodland WA | Battle Ground WA