Katie Hellerud, LMHC
Description of Counselor/Practice
I work with youth, their caregivers, and adults individually (or with the system surrounding the youth). I would describe my style as: nonjudgmental, radically genuine, social justice-oriented, collaborative, and trauma-informed. I have found these factors to be important in being able to provide a platform for sharing and learning about oneself, accepting oneself, and understanding the changes one wishes to implement.
I have extensive training in providing dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a therapy that emphasizes learning and practice of skills, ultimately aimed at assisting individuals in pursuing and creating a “life worth living.” All this to say, you wouldn’t need to know what that looks like for you, some people are not sure. If you are willing to bring in your concerns, I am all ears and here to assist and guide in changes you might want to make to create that vision for yourself. In addition to identifying and attending to bigger picture life worth living goals, I may recommend tracking of skills practice between sessions, and reporting of your observations, in order to process and scaffold one’s “effectiveness” in implementing them in one’s daily life. The rationale of this is to support and empower you to feel more regulated, present, and resilient in the pursuit of the life you envision.
I earned my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Washington. My Master’s degree is specialized in child/adolescent applied psychology. I completed multiple DBT trainings and provided high fidelity services through Seattle Children’s Hospital, the University of Washington, and Harborview Medical Center. In addition to DBT, I have training in cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, and acceptance and commitment therapy. I have a multidisciplinary background with career experiences in: conducting clinical research, and providing inpatient psychiatric care, school-based services, and community mental health services, in King and Snohomish counties.
I am a native Washingtonian and proud Husky alumnus. I enjoy our great outdoors by climbing, backpacking, and going on a lot of walks with my dog. I also enjoy cooking (my favorite is pasta), dancing to any beat I hear, and traveling or at least watching travel shows and dreaming of my next trip.