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Counseling Services

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Counseling for individuals, couples, children, families and healthcare workers impacted by cancer

Our individual counseling services are for adults, children, adolescents, and young adults in Washington State who are struggling with the challenges that accompany a cancer diagnosis and its treatment, or who have a loved one with a cancer diagnosis. We also provide support to the whole family at the time of a new diagnosis with a family meeting and, if needed, ongoing family therapy. We also support couples navigating the changes to their relationship connected to a cancer diagnosis and treatment.

We offer free counseling through a person-centered approach that honors each client’s knowledge and strengths and works in partnership with them to build on those resources in ways that nourish self-understanding, build resilience, and increase skills needed to cope with changing circumstances. We are especially committed to providing our services to people without adequate insurance resources or who have been unable to find a therapist on their own or who identify as being members of marginalized communities. If we are unable to provide our counseling services, we can also help connect you with other therapists who have experience working with people whose lives are affected by cancer.

If you are an oncology social worker and are aware of patients / clients of any age who could benefit from group therapy, please refer your patients / clients to us by connecting with Pamela at [email protected] or (206) 832-1271 who will be able to share information about our group therapy. If you are a referring provider, please email contact information about the person you are referring to [email protected], including; full name, birthdate, email address, phone number, and reasons for your referral. Questions? Call Pamela Krueger, Clinical Program Director, (206) 832-1271.

To apply please fill out THIS SHORT FORM or email [email protected] for further information or call 206-832-1271 (number for Pamela Krueger, Cancer Lifeline’s Clinical Program Director).

 

NEW! ART THERAPY GROUP FOR YOUNG ADULTS:

Are you a young adult (~20 to ~40) with a cancer diagnosis, or a loved one of someone with a cancer diagnosis, whether in or post-treatment, who is interested in group therapy to support your healing who would prefer processing your experiences through creative expression, in addition to sharing with others? If so, please come to our Young Adult Art Therapy Experience Workshop on March 16 from 2-4pm to explore whether you’d like to join this experiential, hands-on, in-person group. To sign up to attend and/or express interest in this group, please complete this short form.

Our Counselors

Clinical Program Director, Cancer Lifeline, Pamela Krueger, PhD(c), MA, LMHC, LMFT, REAT, MFA

Pamela Krueger is a licensed mental health counselor and licensed marriage and family therapy associate and expressive arts psychotherapist. She completed her MA in Counseling Psychology with a concentration in Expressive Arts Therapy. She is a candidate for a PhD in Expressive Arts Therapy, Consulting, and Education at the European Graduate School and recently completed a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Expressive Arts Therapy, Consulting and Education. She is a Registered Expressive Arts Therapist (REAT) with the International Expressive Arts Therapy Association. She also holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and a Juris Doctor and has extensive experience facilitating groups.

She is Cancer Lifeline’s Clinical Program Director and also oversees our cancer support group program. Her therapeutic approach is grounded in an existential-humanistic-transpersonal lens with multicultural humility and a belief of the power of creative processes for healing. Trained in a variety of creative art modalities, she can offer clients a range of ways to connect with their inner knowing in ways that can support healing and growth.

Emili Fletcher, LICSW

Emili Fletcher is a licensed independent clinical social worker. Emili Fletcher earned her Master of Social Work Degree from the University of Washington. Emili has over 20 years of experience as a social worker, and has worked in the field of hospice, palliative care and bereavement for the past 10 years. She is passionate about supporting individuals and families as they navigate life’s most challenging moments.

Emili believes Listening and being present are essential in building a therapuetic relationship. If you don’t listen in the quiet moments, as well as to the words, expressions and body language it makes it hard to understand what is truly needed when assessing a situation.

Vivian Foxx, LICSW

Vivian is a licensed clinical social worker. She graduated with her Master of Social Work from the University of Washington. She has worked in the field of medical social work, including time in oncology and palliative care, for over 8 years. Vivian facilitates support groups for Cancer Lifeline.

She understands the value of having a safe space to share. Vivian uses a person-centered approach to connect with the wisdom in each person she serves. She is ready to explore topics such as stress, fear, anger, depression, anxiety, grief, sadness, values, resilience, and growth.

Angela Lim, LICSW

Angela Lim is a licensed independent clinical social worker. Angela Lim earned her Master of Social Work Degree from the University of Washington and completed internships at Cancer Lifeline and the Seattle Veterans Administration.

Angela has worked in health care for 40 + years, 20 years as a health care social worker. She provides care for individuals and families in all phases of life, including those seeking to improve their overall health and those facing serious illness, grief and loss. Angela Lim’s practice philosophy is “we each hold the solution to the challenge we face, connecting to a good listener can guide you to your truth”.

Sharon Mast, LICSW

Sharon Mast is a licensed clinical social worker with a passion for serving individuals and families as they navigate serious medical conditions, grief/loss and bereavement. With over a decade of experience, Sharon has worked across a range of medical settings, providing compassionate care and support throughout the continuum of care. Sharon practices individual and group work and volunteers as a wilderness grief guide, providing a unique peer based approach to supporting individuals in their grieving process. Additionally, she facilitates Stress Management and Resiliency Training groups for the cancer community.

Sharon received her Master of Social Work from the University of Washington. She completed her internship at the Swedish Cancer Institute and was a Healthy Generations Hartford Center of Excellence scholar. Her approach is holistic, trauma-informed and integrates mind, body, spirit interventions. Sharon’s work with individuals affected by cancer is guided by a deep sense of honor and respect for their experience, and she views the collaborative process as one of profound significance and meaning.

Carolyn Maret, LICSW

Carolyn Maret is a licensed independent clinical social worker. For the last 10 years, her practice has been based in the field of health care, serving patients and families in oncology, palliative care, and long term care settings. Her therapeutic approach is one of open inquiry, offering a non-judgmental, values-based process to support those living with significant illness. She is a lifelong learner, motivated to help her clients explore meaning, value, and purpose in their lives at every stage, especially when navigating grief, loss, and life transitions.

Carolyn received her master’s degree in social work from the University of Washington in 2012 and was a Carol LaMare Palliative Care and Oncology Social Work fellow. She is also certified as a SMART facilitator with the Benson Henry Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital – a program that teaches mindfulness, cognitive-behavioral, and physical relaxation skills. Prior to graduate study, Carolyn worked as a licensed massage therapist, volunteering with hospice and providing therapeutic manual treatment to cancer patients.

Marilyn Oakes-Greenspan, LICSW

Marilyn Oakes-Greenspan is a licensed independent clinical social worker with 25 years of experience in social work including working with people living with HIV/AIDS, hospice and palliative care, and people living with cancer. She identifies as cis-gender female and bisexual and expresses as the basis of her practice love, acceptance, curiosity and authentic presence.

She finds the satisfaction in her work comes from listening to understand your own expression of self and how that sense of self is impacted by living and experiencing the challenges that life hands us. She sees the work of counseling as collaborative and uses mindfulness, behavioral and somatic approaches grounded in the phenomenological, existential expression of living a human life. As such, she welcomes the unique self of who you are and what you bring. She believes that goals are realized as we begin to acknowledge our own contribution and worth as lifelong evolution. She looks forward to working with you.

Weston Pew, LMHC

Weston Pew is a certified counselor in Washington state and a licensed mental health counselor. Additionally, he is an adult educator, wilderness guide, and group facilitator who holds two MA’s: one in experiential education with a focus on relational leadership development and the other in depth psychology with a focus on holistic human development.

For the past nine years, he has been cultivating transformational containers for individuals and groups that bridge the ancient practices of initiation, pilgrimage, meditation, nature connection, contemplative dialog, and ceremony, with the cutting edge fields of adult developmental theory, existential-humanistic psychology, counseling, mindfulness, and behavioral change theory.

Linh Truong, LMFTA

Linh Truong is a licensed marriage and family therapy associate. Her service to people is characterized by humility, openness, possibility, and genuine empathy.

Whether counseling individuals, couples, and families, Linh helps people gain different perspectives of the problems that bring them to therapy, following a bio-psycho-social-spiritual framework. Being trained to provide therapeutic services in medical settings, she supports patients and their family members in processing their emotional experience of coping with physical illnesses and navigating changes accommodated by individuals and the whole family.

Rebekah Wyse

Rebekah is a licensed independent clinical social worker. She received her Master of Social Work from the University of Washington where she was a Carol LaMare Palliative Care and Oncology Social Work Fellow.

With over a decade of experience as an oncology social worker, Rebekah continues to support patients adjusting to a new diagnosis, managing chronic illness, navigating grief and loss, and living in survivorship. As part of her role at Swedish Cancer Institute, she also facilitates the CLIMB children and family support group as well as Stress Management and Resiliency Training groups.

Trenecsia Wilson, MAEd LMHC CDPT NCC

Trenecsia a cis-gendered Black woman, a parent, a student, and a healer. Her primary objective is to facilitate and support the next level of growth and development for individuals and families. This means something different for everyone, so she focuses on building a therapeutic relationship that lends to the understanding and accomplishing of identified goals. There are a number of things that contribute to diminished mental wellness and I am here to help you find out what that is for you and to support you on taking action.

She welcomes all identities and feels it is important to affirm those that are most marginalized. As a Black woman, she understands how difficult it may be to find a provider that looks like you. For that reason, her practice passionately focuses on the overall health and wellness of BIPOC folks. As someone who comes from a family and a culture that doesn’t talk about mental health and wellness, she knows it can be difficult to share experiences with a stranger and be vulnerable. She has come to understand that journeys are best traveled when there is someone alongside of you, who acknowledges you non-judgmentally. She has worked in various setting including inpatient, outpatient, private practice, group practice, community mental health, elementary and middle school settings. She has also worked with many populations and issue presentations such as depression, anxiety, chronic pain, substance use, family challenges, relationship challenges, life transitions, identity exploration, and more.

Courtney Zier, MA, LMHC

Courtney Zier is a Seattle-based psychotherapist with over 10 years of experience in the mental health field. She specializes in working with cancer caregivers and survivors to address the emotional side of a cancer diagnosis. Her work focuses on the importance of self-care, advocacy, and resilience. Courtney recognizes that survivors face a difficult transition into “the new normal” and believes that the effects of cancer do not end when treatment does.

Courtney received her Master’s Degree in Community Counseling from Seattle University and her Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from Cornish College of the Arts. She completed her clinical training as an intern with Sound Mental Health, with a clinical focus on case management, group therapy, and milieu therapy as an intern at an outpatient mental health clinic.


Find a Therapist in the Community

Looking for a therapist to help you navigate the impacts of cancer? Cancer Lifeline recommends the following resources to find a therapist to meet your needs:

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/cancer

  • Search for a therapist based on your specific challenges
  • Telehealth and in-person therapists
  • Insurance information listed on info pages for professionals

https://www.inclusivetherapists.com

https://openpathcollective.org/

  • Search network for therapists in your area
  • Register and pay a one-time lifetime membership fee of $59
  • Schedule an appointment with your therapist for $30-$60 per session

https://www.quartethealth.com/

  • Services are completely free for you to use
  • Quartet finds a mental health care professional who meet your needs and accept your insurance

 

For more information or assistance, please call our lifeline at 206-297-2500 between the hours of 9am-5pm PST.