Therapy
Therapy that makes room for more than understanding.
Sometimes you know exactly why you do something and still find yourself doing it.
You may understand where a pattern came from, recognize it while it's happening, and even know what you would rather do instead. Still, when something activates that familiar response, your body may react before conscious thought has much of a say in the matter.
Other times, you may not understand the pattern at all. You simply know that something feels harder than it should, keeps happening despite your best efforts, or leaves you thinking, I don't want to keep doing this the same way.
That is enough of a place to start.
You don't have to be falling apart to need support.
Many of the people I work with are capable, responsible, thoughtful people who have learned how to keep functioning even when things are difficult. Some are high achievers. Others have learned to take care of everyone around them, stay in control, anticipate problems, avoid conflict, become fiercely independent, or simply keep pushing through.
Responsibility can become over-responsibility. Paying attention can become hypervigilance. Achievement can become pressure that never really lets up. Independence can make it difficult to need anyone. Keeping the peace can slowly disconnect you from your own needs.
A pattern can be causing problems now and have developed for a very good reason.
Therapy gives us somewhere to become curious about both parts of that truth: what your ways of coping have done for you and what they may be asking of you now.
What we might work with
I work with children age 6 and older, adolescents, and adults. People come to therapy for many reasons, including trauma and difficult life experiences, anxiety and chronic stress, burnout and overfunctioning, relationship and attachment concerns, difficult childhood or past experiences, perfectionism, people-pleasing and over-responsibility, self-esteem and identity concerns, emotional overwhelm, and major life transitions.
You don't need a particular diagnosis, level of achievement, amount of insight, or degree of distress to qualify for therapy. Sometimes there is a clear problem to address. Sometimes the starting point is simply realizing that the way you have been getting through life is costing more than you want it to.
What therapy with me is like
My approach is curious rather than corrective. I'm interested in understanding what is happening and what makes sense about it before deciding what needs to change. That doesn't mean therapy is directionless. I will ask questions, offer observations, bring in clinical knowledge, teach when it is useful, and sometimes invite you to look at something from a different angle.
Therapy with me also tends to include more than talking about what happened. Conversation and insight matter, but so do relationships, emotions, body responses, impulses, boundaries, movement, and what happens in the present moment.
My work is informed by trauma and attachment, relational and somatic approaches, and nervous-system perspectives. We may notice sensations, impulses, shifts in activation, breathing, posture, movement, or other ways your body responds as we talk. This isn't about forcing a reaction or making your body "release" something on command. Your body is another source of information—one that can help us become curious about responses that sometimes happen before words or conscious thought catch up.
There will still be plenty of talking. I'm not going to make you spend 55 minutes silently noticing your left elbow while I nod thoughtfully at you.
The point is not to perform therapy correctly. It is to have more than one way of paying attention to what is happening.
Therapy with children and adolescents
Children and adolescents don't always communicate what is happening through direct conversation. Their experiences may show up through behavior, play, emotions, relationships, anxiety, withdrawal, perfectionism, school difficulties, physical complaints, or changes that are difficult for the adults around them to understand.
Children who appear capable or high achieving can also carry significant anxiety, pressure, sensitivity, perfectionism, or responsibility. Other children may show distress more visibly through behavior, withdrawal, emotional intensity, difficulty at school, relationship struggles, or changes that leave the adults around them wondering what is going on.
Caregivers are an important part of the process. Sessions often include time with a parent or caregiver near the beginning and end, with individual time for the child in between. Sometimes it makes more sense for a caregiver to remain for more or all of a session. The structure depends on the child, the therapeutic goals, and what is clinically useful.
Parent involvement may also include things to notice or practice at home, conversations about patterns in the family system, or encouragement for caregivers to seek their own support when appropriate. This is not about making parents responsible for everything a child is experiencing. It recognizes that children live and grow within relationships.
Supporting a child often asks something of the adults who love them, too.
Ways we can meet
Telehealth
Traditional psychotherapy is available by secure telehealth for clients who are physically located in Idaho or Washington at the time of the session. Telehealth can offer consistency and flexibility while allowing therapy to happen from a private space that works for you.
Traditional psychotherapy in an outdoor setting
For clients who prefer to meet in person, traditional psychotherapy can take place outdoors at my property in Athol, Idaho. We may sit in the quiet of the natural environment while engaging in therapy much as we would in another setting.
Horses may be visible or nearby because they live here, but they are not incorporated into traditional psychotherapy simply because we are outside. Meeting outdoors is a change in setting, not a change in therapeutic modality.
If you become interested in intentionally incorporating horses into your treatment, we can discuss whether equine-assisted psychotherapy may be appropriate. That is a separate service.
Sessions in the outdoor setting are weather dependent.
Equine-assisted psychotherapy
Equine-assisted psychotherapy intentionally incorporates horses into mental-health psychotherapy. It is not therapeutic or adaptive riding, riding instruction, horsemanship, coaching, or equine-assisted learning.
Sessions are primarily ground-based, and no horse experience is required. In some circumstances, mounted work may be incorporated when it is clinically appropriate and aligned with treatment goals, physical and medical considerations, safety, and the horse's participation.
Equine-assisted psychotherapy is a separate private-pay service. You can learn much more about how I approach this work on the Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy page.
Established clients may move among telehealth, traditional psychotherapy in the outdoor setting, and equine-assisted psychotherapy when it is clinically appropriate. Scheduling may vary between appointment types.
Fees & Insurance
Traditional psychotherapy is $180 per 55-minute session.
Traditional psychotherapy may be billed to insurance when applicable. For traditional psychotherapy, I am contracted directly with First Choice Health Network and work with Aetna, Cigna, Carelon, and Providence through Headway. Coverage varies by plan, service, and location, so insurance benefits should be verified before assuming a particular service will be covered.
Equine-assisted psychotherapy is $225 per 55-minute session and is private pay.
If you are uninsured or do not plan to use insurance to pay for your care, you have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate of expected charges.
Additional practical information is available on the Frequently Asked Questions page.
Current availability
I currently schedule therapy appointments primarily during daytime hours on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. If you're looking for a regular appointment time, please include your general availability when you reach out so we can determine whether my current schedule is likely to be a fit.
Your first session
Your first 55-minute session gives us a chance to get to know one another, talk about what is bringing you to therapy, and begin exploring what you're hoping will be different.
You don't need to arrive ready to tell your entire story. We'll start where you are.
Fit matters. You'll have an opportunity to experience how I work, ask questions, and decide whether you'd like to continue. If we continue working together, assessment can unfold over time rather than requiring you to compress your entire life into one first appointment.
If you need more immediate support
Whispering Winds Therapy is an outpatient psychotherapy practice and does not provide emergency or crisis services. If your need is urgent, please be aware that I may not be able to respond or schedule an appointment within the timeframe you need.
If you are experiencing a mental-health crisis or need immediate support, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, call 911 when appropriate, or go to your nearest emergency department.