Licensed Mental Health Counselor
hi, I'm Courtney✌️
I'm a licensed therapist, writer, and nervous system specialist based in Bellingham, Washington. I work with adults who feel like their minds and bodies are running two different programs. My approach helps you understand what your nervous system has learned to do to protect you, and how to gently shift those patterns so you can feel more steady, connected, and grounded in your life.
I believe you can’t out-think a nervous system that believes you’re still in danger. Insight matters, but it only takes you so far.
Anxiety, burnout, shutdown, emotional intensity, numbness, these aren’t personal failures. They’re adaptive responses shaped by stress, attachment, and the mismatch between human biology and modern life. Your system has been trying to protect you with the tools it learned early on.
My work isn’t about forcing calm or fixing symptoms. It’s about helping your nervous system become more flexible, responsive, and resourced, so you can move through the world with more capacity and less fear.
If like some people you like to know how a therapist came to see the world the way they do I’ve written about my own path into this work, and the experiences that shaped it, in Still Wired.
How I work👩💻
Sessions with me tend to feel grounded, honest, and collaborative. You don’t have to perform or arrive with perfect words, we pay attention to what your body is doing just as much as what your mind is trying to make sense of.
The pace is steady and intentional, focused on change your nervous system can actually absorb. I’m not interested in pushing people toward big emotional moments. I’m interested in the quieter, more durable shifts that show up in how you relate, cope, decide, and inhabit yourself.
That same curiosity is what fuels my writing. I’ve always been drawn to the parts of our inner world we don’t name out loud, the overwhelm, the freeze, the longing, the contradictions that make us human.
My Substack, Still Wired, is an extension of the work I do in session: exploring how our biology collides with modern expectations, how attachment shapes adulthood, and what it means to live in a body that remembers. Writing allows me to put words to experiences people often feel but struggle to articulate, offering context and connection for the things the nervous system holds quietly.
professional background
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Licensed LMHC in the State of Washington
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License # LH61524016
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New York University, 2022, MA Mental Health Counseling
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Western Washington University, 2020 BS Kinesiology
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Washington State University, 2009, BA Business Admin
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EMDR Training, EMDR Institute, 2022
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Somatic Experiencing Training, Somatic Experiencing International, 2022-2023
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Neuroscience-Informed Therapist Certificate, Cascadia Training, 2025
Want to know more about my professional background or experience? → Explore my LinkedIn
Meet Ripley
Yes, my dog might crash our session. And honestly? She’s part of the team.
Ripley, my golden retriever and registered emotional support animal, has a habit of making cameo appearances during telehealth sessions. She’s basically the unofficial co-therapist. She loves humans, takes her beach sniffing very seriously, and fully understands the assignment when it comes to emotional support.
I’m a big believer that animals get it in a way most humans don’t, they regulate with us, ground us, and remind us how to just be. So if your pets want to join your sessions too? Fully encouraged. They’re welcome here.
If you're considering working with me
There’s no pressure to know exactly where to begin.
Some people start with a Nervous System Mapping Session for clarity and direction. Others begin with ongoing therapy for deeper support. You can also simply explore my writing and see if the way I think resonates with you.
Wherever you start, we’ll move at a pace that feels safe and steady.
Your nervous system is doing its best and together, we can help it do something new. 🌱