The Human Behind the Practice
I'm So Glad You're Here!
I'm So Glad You're Here!
My name is Whitney and I couldn’t be more thrilled that you’ve found your way to my practice. My heart is filled with gratitude knowing you’re exploring the possibility of partnering with me to make your therapeutic experience uniquely your own.
My work as a therapist is dedicated to helping others feel and foster a sense of connection and care when they are in my presence. I aim to encourage autonomy, self-confidence, and choice in every step of the therapy process. I integrate trauma-informed care and education into our time together, and I provide a soft, secure place to land when the process feels overwhelming or uncertain.
The journey of therapy has the potential to bring up deep curiosities, questions, grief, hope, and more. If that’s true for you, I want you to know that I’ll be with you each step of the way. I welcome all of it. The messy. The tender. The joyful. The whole of you.
Roots, Trainings, & Therapeutic Modalities
Choosing a therapist is such a deeply personal experience. I believe it can be helpful to know a little bit more about the person sitting across from you to help you make the best decision for you when choosing a therapist.
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Before becoming a therapist, I spent years working in international relations, nonprofit leadership, and community development, building relationships and supporting communities around the world. Along the way, I witnessed how deeply healing can emerge through connection, storytelling, nature, movement, and spaces where people feel safe enough to fully be themselves.
Much of my work centered around women focused and community based spaces, where I became increasingly drawn to the ways vulnerability, care, and human connection shape wellbeing. Over time, that pull toward deeper relational work continued to grow, eventually leading me to pursue my MA in Clinical Psychology.
I began my clinical work supporting children and families in school settings before working alongside women navigating relational trauma, domestic violence, and survivorship. These experiences deeply shaped the therapist I am today and strengthened my belief in the importance of compassionate, intentional care.
After returning to Washington, I continued growing as a clinician while slowly building toward the vision that had been quietly forming all along: creating a practice rooted in connection, creativity, authenticity, and community. Sage & Sonder was born from that vision, to be a space where people can feel genuinely seen, supported, and empowered as they reconnect with themselves and move toward healing in ways that feel meaningful and sustainable.
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Licensing
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate (LMFTA)
Education
Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology (MA) : Antioch University , Santa Barbara, CA
Master of Business Administration - Social Impact (MBA) : Eastern University, Philadelphia, PA
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Racial Reconciliation (BA) : Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA
Certifications
Somatic Experiencing: Practitioner In Training: Beginner 1
Gottman Method Couples Therapy: Level 1 Training Certification
Emotional Transformation Therapy: Level 1-2 Training Completion
Groundswell Surf Institute: Surf Therapy for Trauma Recovery - Level 1 Certification
Lumina Alliance: 65 Hour Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Therapist Certification
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My role as your therapist is to meet you where you are and draw from therapeutic modalities that best support your needs throughout our work together. I also integrate approaches that I have intentionally trained in and continue to deepen, along with what feels most natural and effective in the room.
Here are the modalities you will find most often in therapy with me:Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT)
Somatic Therapy
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Interpersonal Neurobiology Therapy (IPNB)
Psychodynamic Therapy
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Dialectic Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Nature Based Therapy
If you ever have questions about the approaches I use, or if something doesn’t feel like the right fit, let’s explore what would work better, together. I value collaborating with you in a way that feels responsive and attuned to your experience.
Whether you're brand new to therapy or a seasoned pro with a favorite spot on the couch, you are welcome here. You don’t have to have it all figured out.
You just have to be willing to begin.
A Call Back to Connection
At Sage & Sonder Psychotherapy and Wellness, I operate with the knowledge that relational trauma and PTSD have the potential to disrupt connection, safety, and self-trust over time. You may find yourself feeling anxious, numb, hyper-independent, overwhelmed in relationships, or unsure how to settle into yourself fully.
These responses are not flaws; they are adaptations. And they make sense.
Trauma, especially when it’s relational, can shape the way we move through the world. Whether it stems from childhood, partnerships, family systems, or environments that failed to keep you safe, the impact can linger in the body, mind, and nervous system.
Sage & Sonder represents a call to both inner reflection and outward connection; it’s a space where you can honor your story while also feeling held in the beautiful, messy web of being human. The therapy offered here is grounded in attachment theory, somatic healing, and nervous system regulation to support you in gently exploring your story, honoring your resilience, and creating new, safer ways of being.
Your healing is not one-size-fits-all. It is important to highlight and recognize that your experiences are shaped by your culture, identity, relationships, body, and history. That’s why the therapeutic space created here is inclusive, collaborative, and responsive to the whole of who you are.
At Sage & Sonder, I am committed to reducing the barriers that so often stand in the way of therapy by offering virtual sessions, flexible scheduling, and trauma-informed care designed to meet you where you are. You’re welcome here, just as you are.
