Issanna Loughman MSW

ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS! 

The stressors of life can have profound impacts on youth. I offer children and adolescents (ages 3-18) with compassionate integrative care to meet their unique needs. Sometimes finding the words to express oneself verbally to an adult, as with traditional talk therapy, is challenging for tweens and teens, while young children are not cognitively capable of doing so yet. Therefore, I use many hands-on approaches in practice such as art, music, and aromatherapy; and therapeutic modalities including Play Therapy, Exposure Therapy, and Sandtray Play Therapy. 

I strive for therapy to feel like a very safe space, so a client can be their authentic self while healing and growing. I do this by offering unconditional positive regard, kindness, and respect. Working with youth means also providing support to their families. I typically will see youth clients weekly/biweekly and schedule separate family and parenting sessions, as needed.I work with youth who are struggling with emotion dysregulation, relationships with others, lack of coping skills, life changes, behavioral outbursts, self-harm, and low self-esteem. I specialize in treating anxiety disorders (including panic disorder), OCD, depression, hair pulling (trichotillomania), skin picking (excoriation), trauma, ADHD, Arfid, eating and sleeping disorders.

I am a Clinical Social Worker, having earned my MSW at the University of Washington and completing a play therapy program at Antioch University. I was a fellow at Seattle Children’s Hospital where I developed a Coping Skills program and provided therapy for patients in the Adolescent Medicine Clinic and performed emergency mental health evaluations in the ER. I have experience working with youth and families as a therapist in community mental health care, psychiatric hospitals, and medical hospitals.

When not working as a therapist I am enjoying being a mommy, teaching psychology courses as a college professor, cuddling cows, and going on adventures.