Educational and Professional Background:
Tiffany Washa, PsyD, is a licensed mental health counselor in Washington. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Columbia College of Missouri in 2006. She then completed her Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Walden University in 2009. She went on to earn a Master’s degree in Psychology from Saybrook University in 2013, and ultimately completed her Doctoral degree in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Trauma and PTSD from Saybrook University in 2018. She is a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP) and a WA State Approved Clinical Supervisor. Tiffany has been working in the mental health field since 2008 and has experience working across a diverse range of settings, including an inpatient psychiatric hospital, an outpatient private neuropsychiatric clinic, outpatient community mental health, Integrated Primary Care, and school-based counseling. Most of her clinical experience has involved working with underserved populations of traumatized children, adolescents, adults and families. She most recently worked as a Clinical Supervisor at a Children’s Mental Health agency from 2018-2023. She has extensive training in attachment, trauma and posttraumatic stress, particularly in the realm of complex and developmental trauma.
Areas of Special Interest:
Tiffany enjoys working with children, adolescents, adults, and families. She has experience working with a wide range of presenting concerns, spanning the range of psychiatric diagnoses with which people are often labeled. Her areas of special interest include:
● Trauma and Posttraumatic Stress
● Complex Trauma, Child Abuse and Attachment Disruptions
● Children and Adolescents struggling with low self-esteem, bullying, difficulties at school, separation anxiety, disordered eating and behavioral concerns
● Mind-Body Integration and Wholeness
● Child Development
● Family Issues and Parenting Support
● Life Transitions, Loss, and Grief
● Relationship/Interpersonal Difficulties, including boundary work and communication
● Attention/Organizational Difficulties (e.g., “ADHD”)
● Depression, Anxiety, and Mood Challenges
● Sensory Processing and Highly Sensitive Persons
● LGBTQ+ including gender identity
Personal Statement/Treatment Philosophy:
I use an integrative approach to counseling drawing from elements of many different trauma-informed perspectives, including humanistic/existential, person-centered, internal family systems, somatic (body-oriented) therapies, family systems, emotion-focused, mindfulness-based therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, and energy psychology. I also implement facets of play, art, and narrative therapies when working with children and adolescents. I carefully apply a combination of various therapeutic modalities to address the unique needs and preferences of each individual. My general approach to therapy is process-oriented, collaborative, and client-centered.
Regardless of the treatment approach, I emphasize a holistic, non-pathologizing lens that honors and tends to the whole person: mind, body, spirit, and relationships. I believe that each client is the expert on their own lives, that each individual has a natural, innate tendency toward self-healing, and that individuals adapt to traumas and adversities in a range of ways that are often labeled as mental health problems. I embody a compassionate, strengths-based, non-judgmental style, seeking to create a collaborative relational space in which clients feel safe, heard, and seen. Within this space, I invite clients to walk along beside me on a journey toward self-discovery and healing, which I believe often requires an exploration of the ways their life experiences, embedded within their unique sociocultural, familial, systemic, and relational environments, have uniquely shaped their self-development.