Providing Therapy for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults
Humanistic, person-centered mental healthcare
for people ages 5-25
Welcome
Congratulations on taking a first step towards growth, healing, and wellness. Having done so myself, I know that finding a therapist in a time of need can be a daunting and exhausting process. On this site you can learn a little more about me, my approach to therapy, my office location and COVID-19 policies, and my service fees.
One of the most important factors in successful therapy is the quality of the therapeutic relationship between client and therapist. For this reason, I offer a free, 20 minutes consultation to begin to determine if I may be a good therapeutic fit for you or your child. Please peruse the following sections and feel free to email or call me with any questions you may have.
I look forward to hearing from you.
About your therapist
Zowie Aleshire graduated from Saybrook University (formerly LIOS) in 2019 with a Master of Arts degree in Psychology, Counseling Specialization. Zowie is a lively and playful individual who brings interest and empathy into her therapeutic sessions. A self-proclaimed “therapy nerd”, Zowie is an adamant believer in the power of self examination, psychological education, and whole-hearted self-acceptance in pursuit of human health and wellbeing.
Zowie enjoys working with the honesty and energy of small children, the inner sweetness of adolescents, and the independence of young adults. She has experience counseling teenage and adult survivors of sexual assault and domestic abuse and truly loves working with younger humans dealing with issues of self-esteem, anxiety, impulsivity, grief, and finding purpose and belonging in their life. She currently works with clients ages 5 to 25.
“There is no normal life that is free of pain. It's the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth.”
— Mr. Fred Rogers
Therapy with Zowie
Zowie provides a playful, loving environment in which children, adolescents, and young adults alike can explore, learn, and develop their own sense of self. Using a combination of therapeutic talk, play, art, and psychoeducation, Zowie helps to provide the opportunities to cultivate self-understanding and self-acceptance that lead to reduction in symptoms of dis-ease like anxiety, depression, and impulsivity. Zowie provides lightness and humor in sessions along with an empathetic understanding of the struggles associated with growth throughout childhood, adolescence, and into adulthood.
“A person is a fluid process, not a fixed and static entity; a flowing river of change, not a block of solid material; a continually changing constellation of potentialities, not a fixed quantity of traits.”
— Carl Rogers
Methods
Talk
Talk therapy is a time-tested method of processing and solving intrapersonal struggle. Therapeutic conversation creates an opportunity for self-examination and discovery that clears the path for internal and external change.
Play
Play is an integral method of learning and growing for children of all ages. Child-led, unstructured play engages children’s innate processing abilities and allows for exploration and development of the self in a safe and therapeutic environment.
Create
Creative techniques allow access to the unconscious mind in a manner inaccessible to traditional talk therapy. Utilizing a variety of media, from paint to clay to poetry, therapy that involves the creative mind stimulates our inner drive to heal.
Learn
Psychoeducation (knowledge of psychology), is a life-changing tool in the quest for mental health. Psychoed allows us to see the context of our personal struggles amidst the universality of human experience.
“Play therapy is based upon the fact that play is the child’s natural medium of self-expression. It is an opportunity which is given to the child to ‘play out’ their feelings and problems just as, in certain types of adult therapy, an adult ‘talks out’ their difficulties.”
— Virginia Axline
In-person and remote therapy available
Both in-person and telehealth services are available, depending on client preference, clinical need, and current community spread of Covid-19. Our office is conveniently located just south of downtown Mount Vernon in a neighborhood with ample street parking.
Address
1330 South 2nd Street
Suite 100
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
Office Hours
Monday–Thursday
Variable: 11am(ish)–4pm(ish)
Cost & Payment
Intake Session: $155/55 minutes
Individual Ongoing Sessions: $135/55 minutes
Family Sessions: $150/55 minutes
Consultation: $135/55 minutes
For those of you who find these numbers scary: I can provide superbills for reimbursement from your insurance company.
This means that many of my clients are able to get reimbursed (partially or fully) for therapy with me: Clients pay me directly at the time of service and I provide a detailed monthly account of your paid fees (“superbill”) that contains all the necessary information needed for insurance providers.
Clinical Consultation
Zowie provides clinical consultation for therapists and other healthcare providers wishing to expand their practices to include working with children and adolescents, improve their therapeutic rapport with youth, and/or work on case conceptualization and identifying age-appropriate interventions.
Just as with a therapeutic relationship, rapport between consultant and consultee is integral to satisfactory outcomes. Please reach out for a free 20 minute consultation to see if we might work well together.
