Rate Miriam Staffen

Welcome! I believe one of the most important things I can offer as a counselor is my presence. When we meet, our time together is yours. My goal is to create a space where you feel heard, respected, and comfortable being yourself—even when you aren't quite sure what you are thinking or feeling yet.

I approach counseling with curiosity and encourage my clients to do the same. It can be easy to get caught up in what we think we “should” be feeling, how we “should” be handling something, or where we “should” be in life. Rather than judging those thoughts and emotions, I believe we can become curious about them. What are they telling you? Where might they come from? What patterns are showing up? Most importantly, what would you like to be different?

I believe you are the expert on your own life. I bring my training, experience, observations, and ideas to our work, but I don't believe my role is to tell you how to live your life. My role is to walk alongside you as we explore what is happening, discover your strengths, and find approaches that work for you. I may share something I notice, ask you to consider another perspective, or gently challenge an assumption, but you ultimately decide where we go.

Therapy doesn't always have to be just talking, either. I believe creativity, curiosity, movement, humor, and play can have a place in therapy at any age. Sometimes a creative or experiential process allows thoughts and emotions to emerge naturally and gives us an opportunity to explore something that can be difficult to put into words. Other times, you may simply need a place to talk, vent, and feel heard. We can start with what you need that day.

Throughout my career, I have worked with people across the lifespan and with individuals and families navigating many different life experiences. My background includes trauma and adverse childhood experiences, substance use concerns, parenting and family relationships, foster care and child protection involvement, domestic violence, military and veteran experiences, first responders, assault, accident-related trauma, birth trauma, and perinatal and postpartum concerns. I have also worked with single-parent, divorced, blended, foster, and LGBTQ+ families.

My approach is integrative, which means I don't believe one type of therapy is right for every person. My training and experience include Internal Family Systems-informed work, Solution-Focused Therapy, somatic approaches, Filial Play Therapy, Trauma-Focused Yoga, parent education, play-based and creative approaches. We can draw from different tools depending on your needs, goals, and comfort level.

I earned my Master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Northwest Nazarene University, with an emphasis in play therapy in 2019, and my Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Idaho, with an emphasis in substance abuse treatment in 2015. I consider myself a lifelong learner and genuinely enjoy learning from the people I have the privilege of meeting.

Healing is a journey filled with moments that hurt, moments that bring joy, and every emotion in between. You don't have to arrive at counseling knowing exactly what needs to change or even where to begin.

Wherever we begin, we begin with you.