Growth happens here
Helping children, teens, women, and families in Washington create meaningful, therapeutic connections through equine-assisted, nature-based, traditional talk therapy, and DBT skills groups.
Who can benefit from therapy?
Calming Reins Counseling works with families, kids, teens, and adult women struggling with anxiety, depression, panic, self-harm, suicidal ideation and trauma, looking for dynamic, individualized, and authentic counseling either through traditional talk therapy or equine assisted therapy, as well as therapy groups.
You don’t have to walk alone during the hard and vulnerable times of your life.
Calming Reins Counseling might be right for you if:
You or your child is suffering from anxious thoughts or panic
You want to help your child enjoy things the way that they used to
You are concerned that your child or teen is self-harming or experiencing suicidal thoughts
You are looking for a skills-based approach that is active and dynamic
You are interested in a therapist who can work with your whole family if needed
You have tried traditional talk therapy and haven’t felt like it was a good fit
You are interested in walking while doing therapy or integrating horses into the work (or just having the option to)
What is Equine Assisted Therapy?
A relaxing and grounding alternative or addition to traditional talk therapy
The emotional bonding and natural connection that occurs between horse and human creates a nurturing and relaxing environment for continual growth and healing within the context of therapy. Therapy work that includes horses can especially help us explore trust, control, connection, boundaries, adaptability, and processing trauma.
Equine assisted therapy can be a good fit for those who have had trouble connecting in a traditional talk therapy environment or who are already seeing a primary therapist and desire additional support.
Hi, I’m JoAnna
Therapy is a collaborative process—I believe in integrating client interests and preferences into the therapy space, adapting my approach to each individual.
For the past 7 years, I have enjoyed working in the field of mental health and social services. As a therapist, I strive to help people identify the stories they hold that cause suffering or limitation and rewrite those narratives to reflect freedom, new information, and allow for choices that reflect their values. In session, identifying and rewriting problem narratives might look like talking together, learning and practicing skills, writing poetry together or integrating family or horses into the work. I approach my work with energy, creativity, and always a touch of humor.
If clients are interested, I offer a skills-based approach, incorporating skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) or Radically Open DBT (RO-DBT). I help clients process trauma through Lifespan Integration or Trauma Focused Equine Assisted Psychotherapy. For clients wanting to use creativity to explore emotions or process experiences, I use the Pongo Project Method of creating therapeutic poetry.
As a marriage and family therapist, I work with both individuals and family systems to support the growth of the whole person.
Ready to get started?
Ask a question or schedule a consultation and see if Calming Reins is the right fit for you or your family.
Appointments are currently available on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, and some Saturdays.