
Locations: Telehealth
Background
“I would try to maneuver myself so that I could focus on the horizontal sliver of sky.” – Barry Lopez
I once heard social justice advocate and death-penalty activist Sr. Helen Prejean speak. She said, “Each individual is a universe unto themselves. We must always look squarely at individuals. But we also must look at the systems underneath the individual that either are or are not supporting them.”
A decade later, I became the forever parent to a child who entered my life through the foster care system. I saw how systems that purported to offer support often acted as barriers, or even prisons, how they should have introduced protective factors but more often ripped them away, and how even well-meaning people within them reinforced stereotypes they should have dismantled.
It was this experience, together with my own mental health journey, that inspired me to become a therapist. My passion is to create a space where children, adolescents, and young adults who’ve encountered traumatic experiences feel safe to tell their stories and continue their process of building a life that feels meaningful and fulfilling to them.
I’ve spent my whole adult life working with children and adolescents. I continue to teach high school literature while working as a clinician. My hope is to help young people transform the stories they tell about themselves and their world, even while they navigate systems that might, at times, be difficult to navigate.
Approach
My approach is client-centered, rooted in unconditional positive regard, evidence-informed, and narrative-based. My training is in cognitive-behavioral therapies with specific emphasis on working with trauma, depression, anxiety, system-involved youth, DBT, and parenting interventions. I seek to listen deeply to my client and structure a treatment plan around their goals and values while also ensuring they receive the best evidence-based care.
As an LMHCA in the State of Washington, I specialize in working with children, adolescents, and emerging adults with a broad spectrum of issues.
My areas of focus include:
– Trauma/PTSD
– Depression
– Anxiety
– Oppositional Behaviors/ODD
– Enuresis and Encopresis(especially when these persist into late childhood or re-emerge after a traumatic event)
– Parent/Child or Parent/Adolescent Relationships
– Anger
– Grief, loss, or traumatic grief
– Major life transitions, including parental incarceration or changes in caregivers
All people deserve compassionate listening. All people deserve excellent mental health care. Even in the midst of life’s darkest storms, therapy can help you find the sliver of the sky on the horizon and begin walking steadily in that direction. Please reach out for a consultation. You can email me at matthewkingtherapy@gmail.com or visit my website at matthewmking.com