Mac Partlow, MA/ABS

Washington State Licensed Mental Health Counselor

License number: LH 60104638

Scope of Counseling Practice

I cultivate my therapy practice to include a wide range of clients from late adolescents to adults. I specialize in dealing with sex addiction issues and especially enjoy working with military and ex-military personnel.

Values and Philosophy

My philosophy of counseling is based on a 'wellness model.' This means that I am committed to the belief that you, the client, have an innate drive towards health and growth, and the inner wisdom to make constructive changes in your life. Based upon assisting you with the problem(s) you have identified, I also believe in actively working with the whole of your life. Sometimes that will mean that I will be a counselor and help you examine the 'basics' of your life, such as relationships, work life and physical well being. On this level I am often a coach, and attempt to provide you with information and support when and how to accomplish standard life tasks.

Sometimes your journey might call for us to work on deeper levels, such as going back with you to earlier periods of your life to help you heal from the roots up. I believe that the core of almost all issues involves a historical childhood sense of abandonment and/or engulfment. The work we do is intended to help you discharge the old, painful feelings and help you approach your current relationships with a fresh, clear perspective.

Above all else, I believe that being an addiction therapist is more than simply an occupation for me. My own continued growth and recovery are intimately connected to the work I do with clients. My journey through life has provided me with a wealth of experiences, such as the on-going growth of an eighteen-year relationship, career change, surviving the loss of a parent and friends to terminal illness, and my own recovery issues. The work that I have had to do as a person forms the basis of the assistance that I can give to you.

Therapeutic Technique and Methodology

I believe that the journey you are on holds great hope and success. This is the same journey that countless other people have traveled, including myself. I believe that I can help you gain the insights you need by working through the developmental issues and stages we all must negotiate to achieve a life well lived.

The general flavor of my style is drawn from a Gestalt approach, which means developing a highly interactive relationship between the two of us. This relationship becomes a laboratory for you to experiment with new perspectives and skills. After you have refined and practiced these skills with me, you can then immediately use them in your everyday life. The more real we are in the therapy session, the more powerful its impact on the rest of your life.

Within this framework, I apply components drawn from several diverse conceptual models. Which components we use depend strictly on your needs, goals and personal style. Generally, I employ an integrated systems approach in which we examine all the arenas of your life, including health, work, family/ relationships, and your existential/spiritual life.

At every phase, we will work at providing you with new ways of reframing and responding to problems, more effective communication styles and techniques for living life in a more proactive manner. I continue to learn and update my theoretical knowledge outside of the therapeutic session. I am part of an on-going study group with other counselors and consultants. I also retain the counsel of other veteran therapists whom I respect so that my work remains safe and grounded.

Sometimes your work might be clear and straightforward, taking only a fairly short time to resolve. Sometimes the deeper work can involve a longer journey. In either event, my perspective remains the same: to work myself out of a job by teaching you how to become your own therapist. Hopefully, therefore, our time together will conclude neither too soon nor too late.

Degrees and Certifications

Masters of Arts in Applied Behavioral Science, 1993 - Leadership Institute of Seattle/City University, Seattle, Washington

Memberships

• American Counseling Association
• Association for Sexuality Issues in Counseling
• Association for Spiritual, Ethical and Religious Values in Counseling
• American Mental Health Counselors Association
• International Assocation of Addctions and Offender Counselors
• Washington Mental Healh Counselors Associates
• Seattle Counselors Association