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Zach Stratton

Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate
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Zach Stratton, MA, LMHCA

Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate
(509) 242-7301

As your counselor, I will help you identify and nurture your God-given talents, interests, and strengths. I will also equip you to discover and utilize strategies to manage and alleviate distressing symptoms that may be negatively impacting your life. I have training and professional experience treating individuals with a wide range of symptoms, including anxiety, depression, trauma, obsessive-compulsive behaviors, relationship issues, sleep disturbances, suicidal thoughts and actions, and more. I use a tailored, collaborative, and holistic approach to counseling specifically designed to address your unique needs and personal goals, and tap into the enormous well of potential tucked inside your DNA.

Spokane - Tue, Wed, Thu & Fri

About

I’m an unapologetic optimist with a knack for spotting the inherent strengths in others. No matter what concerns or issues you may be dealing with, it would be my privilege to walk alongside you in your growth and healing journey. I hope to introduce you to a range of helpful and healing resources and equip you to utilize these resources independently as a way to enrich and enhance your life moving forward.

My Goal as a Christian Counselor

My goals as a counselor are: 1) to develop strong, trusting, and collaborative therapeutic relationships with my clients as a foundation upon which we can work together; and 2) to balance nurturing clients’ individual strengths with symptom management. In other words, I am equally interested in what’s going right with my clients (e.g., strengths, talents, interests, relationships, accomplishments) as I am in those areas clients often identify as personal goals for therapy (e.g., distressing symptomology, fractured relationships).

What I Offer in Christian Counseling

I encourage a collaborative approach to counseling, in which there is an agreed-upon structure to each session with a built-in “flexibility button” that allows the session to take unexpected detours depending on the unique needs of the client. In addition, I balance nurturing strengths with symptom management, so clients can expect the therapeutic “work,” both inside and outside the office, to involve developing personal strengths while simultaneously utilizing strategies to alleviate distressing symptoms. Often times, clients find the process of intentionally nurturing their strengths to be a natural therapeutic counter to distressing symptoms – and it’s a beautiful thing!

My Approach to Christian Counseling

The benefit of a distinctly Christian approach is that God, rather than the counselor, acts as the primary catalyst and sustainer of long-term healing and positive growth. I believe that love is not a feeling, but an action. More specifically, love is the act of intentionally caring for the needs of others (physical, spiritual, emotional, or otherwise) as if you were caring for your own needs. Jesus modeled this kind of love in how and with whom He spent His time. My primary motivation when I walk through that door is not to change you, “fix” you, or impose my own personal value system. Rather, my motivation is to express this model of love in action in the most practical way I can: by taking the time to listen to you and understand your story before offering my guidance (along with a few helpful resources) on your way to a life that fully reflects and honors your own personal strengths, values, and aspirations.

Biography

Qualifications & Experience

I have a BA in Psychology from Western Washington University and an MA in Applied Child & Adolescent Psychology: Prevention and Treatment from University of Washington.

During my time at the University of Washington, I worked with adolescents as a mental health clinician in the Seattle Children’s Hospital OCD Intensive Outpatient Program. I have also worked in social services as a case manager for youth with developmental disabilities, adults on the schizophrenia spectrum, and women and youth experiencing homelessness.

I have had the honor of working with clients struggling with symptoms common to OCD, anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, insomnia, ADHD, and suicidal thoughts and actions. I am trained in several evidence-based practices, including CBT (for anxiety, depression, OCD, insomnia), DBT, ACT, Behavioral Activation (BA), Motivational Interviewing (MI), and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).

My Call to Christian Counseling

There were several factors that influenced my decision to pursue a career as a counselor. Since the age of 12, I knew I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my grandfather – a psychologist, pastor, and zany raconteur. I picked up a BA in Psychology at 21 and jumped right in, naïve to the inherently difficult nature of the work but otherwise well-intentioned, initially working as a case manager for young adults with developmental disabilities and adults on the schizophrenia spectrum. As a mid-twenty-something, I decided to focus on working with youth experiencing homelessness, spending time volunteering in my community at the time, and then in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. I later moved to Los Angeles to work as a Case Manager at Union Rescue Mission’s Hope Gardens Family Center, a unique two-year transitional housing program for women and youth experiencing homelessness. Some time later, I applied to and completed UW’s MA in Applied Child & Adolescent Psychology program with the goal of starting my own practice in Spokane.

More About Me/On a Personal Note

I have been married to my lovely wife and high school sweetheart since 2012, and we welcomed our first child into the world in 2021! I enjoy spending time with my ever-expanding extended family, swimming, reading anywhere and everywhere, writing, all things film-related, billiards, art in its many forms, and just about anything involving the woods (e.g., camping, hiking, exploring).

Services and Specialities

Areas of Expertise/Specialties

  • Anger Management
  • Anxiety
  • Coaching
  • Counseling for Children
  • Counseling for Teens
  • Depression
  • Individual Counseling
  • Men’s Issues
  • OCD
  • Online Counseling
  • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Personal Development
  • Relationship Issues
  • Spiritual Development
  • Trauma/PTSD

Anxiety

Note: I have received specialized training in working with clients with OCD and co-occurring anxiety disorders in the Seattle Children’s Hospital OCD Intensive Outpatient Program. 

Anxiety can manifest itself in many ways, yet fear tends to lie at the heart of all anxiety. This kind of fear robs you of your time, impacts your relationships with family and friends, and dictates what you can and cannot do, where you can and cannot go. There is only one way to say goodbye to fear: face it. The “anxiety cycle” looks a lot like this: you fear something, you avoid that something, you experience short-term relief, only for your fear of that something to grow over time as a result of repeated avoidance. We can disrupt this cycle through Exposure Therapy, which involves the greatest act of courage a person can possibly undertake: making a list of your fears and checking them off one by one! Before you run for the door, know this: Exposure Therapy is a slow, gradual collaboration with your therapist over the course of several weeks/months. The process can be equal parts challenging, rewarding, and yes, even fun! More importantly, it allows you to reclaim your life from the grip of anxiety.

OCD

Note: I have received specialized training in working with clients with OCD and co-occurring anxiety disorders in the Seattle Children’s Hospital OCD Intensive Outpatient Program.

Obsessions are thoughts, worries, fears, and images that come into our mind over and over again, even when we don’t want them to. Compulsions are the actions that we feel we need to do, sometimes over and over again, to avoid the distress associated with obsessions.

OCD can rob you of your time, impact your relationships with family and friends, and dictate every area of your (and your family’s) life. The good news about OCD is that you can show it the door. The not-so-good news is that showing OCD the door takes time, creativity, and dedication on your part. Exposure Therapy is an approach that systematically exposes you to situations that trigger your obsessions (and resulting distress) while simultaneously helping you refrain from engaging in compulsions in response to/as a way of avoiding your distress. Though it can be challenging, it is an effective way for you to overcome OCD.

Counseling for Teens, Young Adults, and College-Age Adults

Welcome all teens, young adults, and college-age adults! It’s a wild time to be alive. You experience life with unmatched intensity: emotionally, socially, creatively, and in your God-given drive to explore, push boundaries, and step into your independence. It can be a time of incredible joy, engagement, and opportunity. It can also be a time of overwhelming confusion and stress. Sometimes, it’s all of the above! We could all use a little help to nudge that raw potential and passion in a direction that fully reflects and honors your personal strengths, values, and aspirations. That’s where I come in. I would be honored to meet with you to see how we can work together to build on your strengths and propel your growth.

Depression

Depression can keep you rooted in place. So, sometimes the best thing to do is get up and go, whether you feel like it or not. One way to “get up and go” is to identify, acknowledge, and nurture your God-given talents, interests, and strengths in order to ignite a renewed passion for living. The coolest thing about humans is that we all come pre-packaged from birth with unique and enduring qualities that can act as a roadmap out of depression and into a life that fully reflects the person God created you to be. This process of acknowledging your inherent value (read: awesomeness) is anything but easy. It also happens to be an excellent use of time and investment in your future!

Personal Development

Once upon a time, the field of psychology focused primarily on what goes “wrong” with a person. Then came Positive Psychology, an approach that strives to balance the proverbial scales by spending just as much time (if not more) on identifying and nurturing your God-given talents, interests, and strengths as we do on managing distressing symptoms impacting your life. There is no greater map on the road to personal development and overall wellbeing than the one tucked inside our DNA! You just have to know how to tap into that vital resource and use it to fully honor your unique and enduring qualities. The process of acknowledging your own personal brand of “awesomeness” can be equal parts challenging, engaging, and most importantly, fun!

Payment and Forms

Sessions: I offer 53-minute sessions. Sessions can be held more than once per week, weekly, or every other week. Scheduling options are discussed in greater detail during your Risk-Free Initial Session.

Availability (by office location):

  • Spokane – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday

Fees: I offer a Risk-Free Initial Session for individuals looking to pursue counseling with me. Please note that there is a fee for the Risk-Free Initial Session as it is a clinical hour and reimbursable to most insurance companies, but if you choose not to reschedule and continue therapy after the initial session the entire fee for the session will be waived. For ongoing treatment the full fee per session is required at the time of service.

Insurance: As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate (LMHCA), some insurance companies will reimburse for a portion of my services (as an Out of Network Provider). Please consult with your insurance provider.

Receipts/Statements: In the event you require a printed or digital receipt, I will provide receipts for personal use, insurance reimbursement, Flex Spending Accounts (FSA), and Health Savings Accounts (HSA).

Payment options: Cash, Check, or Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, & American Express). A fee of up to 4%  per transaction will be added for credit card payments.

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