Appointments are offered weekdays and weekends with flexible early morning and evening hours. If you would like to more information or would like to make an appointment, please contact one of our providers directly, or fill out the form on our Contact page.
Emily Whitish (206) 403-8176
Tara Lemley (206) 696-2024
- Appointments are 50 minutes or 75 minutes
- Individual sessions are typically 50 minutes and Family sessions are typically 75 minutes
- Home-Based Services are offered for family therapy (at least one caregiver and one child age 18 and under, living in the home)
Our Office
Our office is on the 4th floor of the historic Ballard Building, located at 2208 NW Market Street in Suite 407A. The entrance to the building is between Annie’s Art & Frame and Romanza Gifts. We will provide you with the elevator code if you are scheduled for an evening appointment, as the elevator does not work without the code after 6pm. Our office is handicap accessible.
We do not have a waiting room. Please enter only if the office door is open. If the door is closed to our suite, please do not knock or enter, as we may be in with other clients. If you arrive early for your appointment, there are a number of coffee shops, stores, and parks within a three-block radius of our office that you can enjoy until your appointment time.
What to Expect
Your first appointment is called an “intake” and is typically used to gather information about you and what brought you to counseling. Your therapist will likely ask you what prompted your interest in counseling, and other questions that may help us understand who you are and how we can help you. Please bring in your completed Intake Forms so that we can make the most of our first session together.
We will discuss frequency of sessions and set up future appointment times. Your appointment will generally be at the same time each week and will begin on the hour, and end 10 minutes before the hour. In some cases, your needs would be better met by another clinician or service outside Salmon Bay Counseling, in which case we will do our best to provide you with a referral.
During early visits with your therapist, you will work on establishing goals for counseling. You may choose to set just one or many goals. The counseling needs of clients vary; you and your therapist will collaborate in making the best plan to meet your needs and reach your goals.
Making the Most of Your Counseling Experience
Counseling sessions will consist of you talking about your concerns. You may talk about current and past experiences. Your counseling experience will depend on the issues you bring into the therapy, your therapists perspective, and the preferences you voice over the course of counseling.
The counseling process will have ups and downs. At times you will feel as though you are making progress, at other times you may feel stuck. Counseling is most helpful when you are open to change and are honest about your feelings and experiences, including the counseling process itself.
Entering therapy is making an investment in yourself. Feeling great about ourselves, happy about our situation, positive about our future, and hopeful about our direction in life is priceless and possible. However, counseling is only beneficial if you take the process seriously and are open to facing uncomfortable feelings and experiences together. Sorting through life’s dilemmas can save you time, money, relationships, and significantly reduce your stress and benefit your health.
Crisis
If your safety is at risk, call 911. Otherwise, if you cannot reach your therapist, please utilize the Crisis Line at 866-4CRISIS. We keep a busy schedule and may not be available to respond to crisis situations as quickly as you might need. We will do our best to offer a crisis follow-up session if you would like to meet with your therapist sooner than your next scheduled appointment.
