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Relationship & Interpersonal Therapy · Seattle · Statewide WA Telehealth

Individual therapy for the patterns that keep showing up in how you connect.

Therapy for one person, not couples work. Same-week appointment availability. Most major insurance plans accepted. In person at three Seattle-area offices or by secure video anywhere in Washington.

Same-week first appointments Most major insurance plans accepted Individual work, not couples therapy
Two partners standing close with foreheads gently touching during golden-hour light, faces in profile
In short

Relationship and interpersonal therapy at Counseling Services for Wellbeing is individual therapy for one person, not couples work, helping Seattle-area adults understand the patterns that keep showing up in how they connect, set boundaries and trust. We work with attachment, people-pleasing, conflict and loneliness, accept most major insurance plans, book same-week appointments and meet in person at our Green Lake, Burien and Smokey Point offices or by secure video statewide.

Does this sound familiar?

You can see the pattern now. Naming it has not stopped it.

The same kind of person. The same argument in a different kitchen. The same moment where you go quiet to keep the peace and then resent it for a week. You have read the books. You can name your attachment style at a dinner party. Knowing the word for it has not stopped it from happening again.

Maybe you are the one who reads every text three times for what is really meant. Maybe you say yes when your whole body means no, then wonder why nobody seems to like the real you. Maybe you pull away the moment someone gets close, or you hold on so tight it scares people off. Maybe a relationship ended and the breakup cracked something open you did not expect.

These are not character flaws. They are patterns, most of them learned a long time ago in the first relationships you ever had, and patterns can be worked with. This is individual therapy for one person. You do not need a partner in the room to start changing the way you connect.

What we offer

Individual therapy for the way you connect, set boundaries and trust.

Repeating relationship patterns

The same dynamic, the same kind of partner, the same ending. Different person, same situation, again and again.

Attachment patterns

Anxious, avoidant or fearful-avoidant. Fear of abandonment, or needing distance the moment things get close.

People-pleasing and boundaries

Saying yes when you mean no. Keeping the peace. Resentment you cannot quite place, and a self nobody seems to meet.

Communication and conflict

Shutting down, blowing up, or replaying the conversation for hours afterward looking for what you should have said.

Social and interpersonal anxiety

Dread of being judged. Mind-reading what people think of you. Struggling to feel like yourself when others are around.

Loneliness, trust and after a breakup

Rebuilding connection, learning to trust again, or working out who you are now that a relationship is over.

First-time-therapy adults are welcome, and you do not need to be dating or partnered to start. A lot of this work happens between relationships.

Our approach

How relationship and interpersonal therapy works here.

We treat the pattern, not just the last argument, working with where it started, how it lives in your body and how you can respond differently the next time.

1

Reach out

A short form or a call. We hear what keeps happening in your relationships, what you have already noticed, and what you want to be different. No assessment battery to clear before we talk.

2

Get matched

We pair you with a therapist who works relationally and individually. Attachment and parts that protect you land with IFS and attachment-focused clinicians. Family-of-origin and conflict land with psychodynamic and emotionally focused work.

3

Start this week

First appointment in-person at one of three Seattle-area offices or by secure video anywhere in Washington. Same therapist each session. The early work maps the pattern so you can start to change it, not fixing you, because you are not broken.

The method

Why an individual, pattern-first lens.

The way you connect was learned, often in your earliest relationships, and the American Psychological Association notes that those early patterns shape how we relate as adults. Working on them on your own gives you room to look at the pattern instead of living inside it.

Internal Family Systems for the parts that protect you. Attachment-focused work for fear of abandonment and distance. EMDR when an old relational wound is still running the show. CBT for the social anxiety and mind-reading. We match the approach to the pattern you keep running into, not the other way around.

Individual
one-person work, not couples therapy
Attachment
clinicians who work directly with your style
AAMFT
approved clinical supervision

Want to come in with a partner instead?

This page is individual therapy for one person. If you and a partner want to work on the relationship together, that is couples therapy.

Couples therapy in Seattle →

How we compare

Counseling Services for Wellbeing vs. typical Seattle options for this work.

Generalist Seattle therapists Online therapy platforms Counseling Services for Wellbeing
First appointment
Often 4 to 6 weeks out
Usually within days
Same-week, matched to you
Same therapist every session
Yes, always the same person
Therapist rotation common
Same therapist each time
In-person and video options
In person, one location
Video only
Three offices plus video
Messaging between sessions
Rarely offered
Built-in app messaging
No 24/7 app messaging
Insurance accepted
Often cash-pay only
Limited plans accepted
Kaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna
Range of relational approaches
One generalist, one approach
Scripted, often CBT-flavored
IFS, attachment, EFT and psychodynamic
  • First appointment

    • Generalist Seattle therapistsOften 4 to 6 weeks out
    • Online therapy platformsUsually within days
    • Counseling Services for WellbeingSame-week, matched to you
  • Same therapist every session

    • Generalist Seattle therapistsYes, always the same person
    • Online therapy platformsTherapist rotation common
    • Counseling Services for WellbeingSame therapist each time
  • In-person and video options

    • Generalist Seattle therapistsIn person, one location
    • Online therapy platformsVideo only
    • Counseling Services for WellbeingThree offices plus video
  • Messaging between sessions

    • Generalist Seattle therapistsRarely offered
    • Online therapy platformsBuilt-in app messaging
    • Counseling Services for WellbeingNo 24/7 app messaging
  • Insurance accepted

    • Generalist Seattle therapistsOften cash-pay only
    • Online therapy platformsLimited plans accepted
    • Counseling Services for WellbeingKaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Cigna
  • Range of relational approaches

    • Generalist Seattle therapistsOne generalist, one approach
    • Online therapy platformsScripted, often CBT-flavored
    • Counseling Services for WellbeingIFS, attachment, EFT and psychodynamic

We are not the cheapest option in the city and we do not offer 24/7 app messaging. We are the practice that takes your insurance, gets you in quickly and matches you with a clinician who works directly with attachment and the patterns you keep running into.

Insurance & coverage

Most major insurance plans accepted

Kaiser Permanente Premera Blue Cross Regence Blue Cross Blue Shield Aetna Cigna UnitedHealthcare Optum Humana Wellpoint Carelon LifeWise First Choice Health Network Coastal Administrative Services Medicare Tricare Triwest

We confirm coverage before your first session, so working on the way you relate does not have to wait until you can afford cash-pay rates.

The team

Meet some of our relational therapists.

A deeper bench than the five here. We match you with a clinician who works individually with attachment and the patterns you keep running into.

Stacy Lanier, MS, LMFT-Associate

Stacy Lanier

MS, LMFT-Associate
IFSEFTAttachmentSelf-esteemRelationship patterns
Read bio Book with Stacy

Serena Perry, MA, LMFTA

Serena Perry

MA, LMFTA
AttachmentIFSPolyvagalSelf-esteemRelationship patterns
Read bio Book with Serena

Leada Taghipour, LMFTA

Leada Taghipour

LMFTA
IFSEFTAttachmentSelf-esteemBoundaries
Read bio Book with Leada

Katie L. Esler, MS, LMHC, NCC

Katie L. Esler

MS, LMHC, NCC
AttachmentDBTSelf-esteemBoundariesLGBTQ+
Read bio Book with Katie

Alexis Fonville, MS, LMHCA

Alexis Fonville

MS, LMHCA
EFTCBTRelationship issuesPeople-pleasingConflict
Read bio Book with Alexis

Karina Escamilla, M.Ed., LMHCA

Karina Escamilla

M.Ed., LMHCA
RelationshipsSelf-esteemAnxietyCBT
Read bio Book with Karina

A counselor offering warm, culturally sensitive support for anxiety, depression, stress, life transitions, trauma, and relationships, drawing on CBT, mindfulness, and strength-based approaches.

+ Meet the full team

Therapists and psychiatric providers across all three offices and by secure video.

Meet the team

Deeper bench than the five here. Tell us what keeps happening in your relationships and we will match you with the right therapist.

Where to meet

Three offices or secure video anywhere in Washington.

Meet in person at one of three Seattle-area offices, or by secure video with the same therapist you would see in the room.

Green Lake, Seattle

North Seattle, Wallingford, Ravenna, Roosevelt

View office →

Burien

White Center, SeaTac, Normandy Park, South King

View office →

Smokey Point, Arlington

Arlington, Marysville, north Snohomish

View office →

Secure video, statewide

Anywhere in Washington. Same therapist either way.

Online therapy in WA →
Frequently asked questions

What adults ask before starting relationship and interpersonal therapy.

Is this couples therapy or individual therapy?

This is individual therapy. You come on your own to work on your own patterns, the way you connect, set boundaries and handle conflict, no partner required. If you would rather come in together with a partner, that is couples therapy and we offer it too.

Do you take my insurance for relationship therapy?

We accept Kaiser, Premera, Regence, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare and Cigna, plus most major plans. Coverage can work differently by plan, so we will confirm exactly what your plan covers before your first session. You will not be left guessing about cost.

How soon can I be seen?

First appointments are available the same week, not weeks out. Much of the Seattle market books four to six weeks ahead or is cash-pay only, so you do not have to sit on a waitlist while the same pattern keeps repeating. Reach out and we will find the first opening that fits.

What if I am not in a relationship right now?

That is completely fine and common. A lot of this work happens between relationships, when there is room to look at the pattern instead of living inside it. You do not need to be dating or partnered to start. The work is about you and the way you connect, not about a specific person.

Do you work with attachment styles?

Yes. Several clinicians on the team work directly with attachment, helping you understand your style, whether it is anxious, avoidant or fearful-avoidant, where it came from and how it shapes who you reach for and who you pull away from. We often pair attachment work with Internal Family Systems for the parts of you that protect against getting hurt again.

Is relationship therapy online or only in person?

Both. You can meet in person at our Green Lake, Burien or Smokey Point offices, or by secure video anywhere in Washington with online therapy. The same therapist either way.

What happens in the first appointment?

The first session is about understanding the patterns you keep running into and what you want to be different. Not fixing you, because you are not broken. Mapping the pattern so you can start to change it. The later work focuses on noticing the pattern in real time and choosing a different response.

Take the next step

The same pattern does not have to keep choosing for you.

Individual relationship and interpersonal therapy gives you a place to understand how you connect and to change it, and you can start this week. Counseling Services for Wellbeing accepts most major insurance plans, books first appointments the same week, and meets you with a therapist who works directly with your patterns, in person at our Green Lake, Burien and Smokey Point offices or by secure video across Washington.