About Me &
Therapeutic Approach
About Me
My name is Mary Howland, and I am a Washington licensed Marriage and Family Therapist working in Seattle. I came to my career as a therapist and counselor through a deep passion to connect with others as they move through life’s ever twisting, and often challenging, paths.
I received my Bachelor’s of Arts in English Literature and Sociology from the University of Vermont. After a decade of soul searching, and working as a human resources and recruiting manager for a wilderness medicine company, I decided to follow my strengths and passion, and attended Antioch University Seattle’s Couple and Family Therapy master’s program. Now, as a therapist in private practice, I work with individuals, romantic partnerships, and families as they navigate the peaks and valleys of life’s joys, pains, and challenges.
​
I spent my childhood and teenage years abroad, living in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. My experience growing up as a “Third Culture Kid” gave me many unique experiences and perspectives on the world and how humans live, relate, and struggle across various cultures. It has also fostered a particular interest in working with people as they navigate finding a sense of place in the community they live; whether permanently, temporarily, as an immigrant, migrant, or native.
I am a member of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) and the Washington Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (WAMFT). I am a PACT (Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy) trained couples therapist. I have received my 5-Day Foundations Level Narrative Therapy Intensive Certificate through the Vancouver School for Narrative Therapy.
Beyond my professional life, I enjoy exploring Washington’s coastline and mountains with my partner and young child, baking and cooking for friends, and losing myself in a good book.
​
Washington state LMFT license number: LF61446941
Therapeutic Approach
Life is full of ups and downs: peaks and valleys make up the topography of our lives. The views from the peaks can be exhilarating and breathtaking. When we are down in the valleys it is often hard to imagine ever being able to climb to the top of the peaks we desire for ourselves. Many of us want to live only on those high peaks, but find that we spend most of our time down in the shadowy valleys. My aim as a therapist is to help you find the strength you already possess, and hone the skills needed to climb the peaks, while also helping you to find peace and beauty in the valleys and the spaces between.
As a trained marriage and family therapist, I am a systems therapist. This means that in our work together, I consider all the systems you exist in, and how these may be impacting your struggles. I believe that looking at how we are interconnected to our families, partners, communities, and our various identities, can help relieve stigmatization, isolation, and shame that often overwhelms us when we are struggling.
I believe that counseling is a co-creative processes, and I work with all my clients to find the approach that best suits their unique needs. I actively consider my clients’ experiences and identities, and how experiences of oppression might influence current struggles and behaviors. I aim to always provide a warm, open and safe environment for my clients in which to work to understand and support themselves as they change, grow and heal in the ways they desire.
I integrate a humanistic and anti-oppression perspective through a variety of approaches. I most often employ a narrative approach, while frequently integrating it with cognitive and behavioral, strength-based, and attachment-focused techniques.
I welcome clients of all ethnicities and races, gender identities, sexual orientation, religious and spiritual identities, class backgrounds, and physical and intellectual abilities. Your unique identity make-up will be actively welcomed and considered in our work together.
​
Please contact me directly with any particular questions you might have about working with me.