Experiential

As the name suggests, experiential therapy is a therapeutic approach that focuses on the idea of experiencing, encouraging clients to address issues through activities like role playing. Part of the theory behind experiential therapy is that by focusing the client on a task or activity, they are more likely to behave in an unguarded manner, allowing the therapist to make important observations and provide valuable feedback. The term experiential therapy can also be applied to numerous other therapeutic practices such as equine therapy, art therapy, music therapy, and wilderness therapy.

Local experts in Experiential

Brooke Lytz (Vaille) (she/her)

Marriage and Family Therapist Associate

Marriage and Family Therapist Registered Associate #R9241

I am Level 1 Certified in Restoration Therapy (RT). RT is a model based in attachment, family dynamics and mindfulness to help clients identify ways in which they get "stuck" and how to form more loving and trustworthy ways of being and communicating.

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Gabriella Losada (she/her)

Professional Counselor Associate

Experiential therapy involves bringing creative elements or activities into session that take us beyond just staring at each other and talking. Sometimes this means writing, making art, using music, or creating a tangible coping tool to process things in a different way. Creativity can be helpful in moving through grief, trauma, and dissociation, especially when verbal processing feels difficult.

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Andy Pfandler (he/him)

Marriage and Family Therapist Associate

MA

In addition to talking about what is happening in your life, in session I work with what you and I are experiencing together in the present moment to build skill and capacity. Instead of analyzing problems we work through them together in the moment. In my work I have seen it shift patterns that therapy hasn't been able to touch in the past. Beyond being effective I center this technique as a way to break down traditional power structures that are baked into therapy.

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Sawyer Salameh (They/Them)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC

I focus on what’s happening in the room to help you better understand yourself and gain more control over your choices and life. Our experience encompasses everything occurring in the room, including our thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations. By paying attention to these elements, you can explore how they influence your behaviors and decisions, leading to a deeper understanding and more empowered approach to life.

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Tori Morrison (she/they)

Licensed Marriage Family Therapist

MA, LMFT

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Michaela Christopher (she/her)

Marriage and Family Therapist Associate

M.A. Marriage, Couple, & Family Therapy

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Ajay Dheer (He/They)

Marriage and Family Therapist Associate

M.S. Marriage and Family Therapy

Experiential therapy was a large focus of my training in graduate school. My studies and my clinical practice have included various experiential based approaches, including but not limited to: mindfulness, breath work, role plays and other more traditional experiential techniques. These techniques can be particularly helpful when traditional talk therapy could use a boost.

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"Paisley" Jen Burrell (she/her)

Licensed Marriage Family Therapist

LPC, LMFT

Experiential therapy in couples counseling focuses on present emotions and experiences rather than just talking. Through activities and exercises, couples engage directly with feelings, improving understanding and communication, and fostering deeper connections.

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Alicia Turgesen (She/Her)

Licensed Marriage Family Therapist

MA, LMFT

It is through our experiences that we're able to open new doors to healing and growth. Through various experiential activities, you're able to consider new ways of being and therapeutically experience your emotions and thoughts.

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Lauren Stines (she/they)

Marriage and Family Therapist Associate

MA MCFT

Our experiences make up who we are. As an experiential therapist, I will invite you to explore how you are experiencing the content of your life within the 'here and now'. I do so by engaging my clients with mindfulness exercises that explore their present emotional responses to the content they bring to therapy.

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Erin Axelrod, MA (she/her/hers)

Professional Counselor Associate

MA

Tuning into your experience of the present moment is a powerful way to connect with insight and direction. I am trained in experiential therapies that support you in checking in with your present experience in a safe and profound way.

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Anna Schaum

Licensed Professional Counselor

I am a Board Certified Practitioner of Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy (www.psychodramacertification.org), am qualified to train therapists in this modality, and teach at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR and Antioch University in Seattle.

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Stephanie Podasca (she/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

MA, LPC, LMHC

Somatic and mindfulness-based therapy is experiential at its core. By working in the present moment and including the body’s inner wisdom in our work, we can tap into connection with our most authentic Self. Experiential therapy gives us the real-time tools to track and engaged with both the joys and sorrows of the human experience. This type of therapy places more emphasis on the present and future rather than focusing too much on the past.

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Ayala Parker (she/they)

Licensed Marriage Family Therapist

LMFT

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Grace Silvia, LCSW (she/her)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Whether talking about what happened yesterday or in your family growing up, we will work with what you experience as you explore it in the moment. That way the work is fresh, not a stale re-hashing of an old, stuck story. Using basic building blocks of gentle curiosity, compassion and honoring both what shows up as well as resistance to what shows up, deep transformation happens.

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Brooke Kaufman (she/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

M.A.

It is only through present-moment experience that we are able to have a new experience of being with ourselves and others. There are practical tools of awareness that I will guide you in to be able to develop more capacity to experience emotions and sensations. Through nervous system tracking, mindfulness practices and other somatic modalities, you will learn the skills you need to feel more centered and to have more capacity for aliveness.

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Carl Jensen

Licensed Professional Counselor

MS, LPC

I have significant background in Psychodrama therapy, as well as Gestalt therapy. When a client goes deep into a problem area, this approach may often be the most valuable. There are numerous therapeutic experiential interventions that have the potential to creatively begin healing or transform an individuals problem area.

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Jane Flanagan (they/them)

Professional Counselor Associate

Master of Clinical Mental Health Counseling

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Suzanne Sanchez (she/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC

I use experiential techniques to help clients access parts of their sub-conscious mind. Examples may include art therapy techniques, role-playing, writing, and play therapy. Through experience, insight is often increased, and as self-awareness grows so can self-esteem, self-confidence and motivation.

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Fae Tippie (they/them)

Licensed Marriage Family Therapist

OR LMFT # T2221, CA LMFT #130759

If realizations alone would've solved your problems, you probably would've gotten there already- but that doesn't really work for trauma. That's why I work experientially, based in the body, and in alliance with nature. With drama therapy and role play we can embody, un-do, and re-wire past trauma and pain, and practice new ways of being. Through expressive modalities like sand tray and creative arts, you can access stuck material and liberate it in service of self-expression and healing.

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