Profile / United States
Patricia Sumlin, LMFT
Washington
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist - Anxiety and Trauma
See online therapy options- CBT methods
- ACT and DBT tools
- Attachment focus
About Patricia
Patricia Sumlin is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in Washington with 25 years of experience. She helps people facing stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, relationship and family concerns, and issues tied to addiction and grief. Patricia also works with challenges around ADHD, intimacy, parenting, sleep, eating, career stress, and compassion fatigue.
Her style is direct and practical. She focuses on building clear skills for managing strong emotions and unhelpful behavior patterns. Sessions often include noticing thought patterns, learning coping strategies, and practicing new ways of responding to difficult situations.
Patricia draws on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) along with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Attachment-Based Therapy, and client-centered methods. She aims for straightforward, skills-based work that connects insight with concrete practice. This can include behavioral experiments, emotion regulation tools, and attention to relationship patterns.
Her background includes directing behavioral health programs, running DBT groups, and work in medical behavioral health, hospice bereavement, homelessness services, and trauma-informed programs in Alaska. Those experiences inform how she approaches chronic illness, trauma histories, and complex life transitions.
People who choose Patricia typically want pragmatic help to reduce symptoms and get clearer about relationship and life patterns. To begin, readers are asked to use the service pathway to match and schedule an initial session and complete a brief questionnaire.
How her approaches translate to online sessions
Patricia uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to help people notice unhelpful thoughts and test different responses in everyday life. CBT sessions often include brief experiments, thought records, and step-by-step behavior changes that can be practiced between meetings.She also draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which focuses on clarifying values and taking small actions that matter to the client. ACT techniques can help with persistent worry, low mood, and motivation by linking actions to what a person cares about.
Attachment-based work looks at patterns in close relationships and how early relationship experiences affect current reactions. This can help when recurring conflict or trust issues keep showing up in relationships.
Finding the right blend of methods is part of the work. The therapist collaborates with each person to choose techniques that fit their goals, symptoms, and daily life. Sessions can shift over time as needs change and skills build.
The site asks clients to confirm current session options before booking. That will explain which online formats are available and how scheduling works. Online sessions can make it easier to fit therapy into busy routines, allow shorter check-ins when needed, and reduce travel time so people can practice skills between appointments.
Areas of expertise
Primary focus
Also works with
Additional focus areas
Therapeutic approaches
Experience
25+ years
Listed in
California, Washington
Languages
English
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of concerns does she address?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, relationship and family issues, addiction, grief, intimacy concerns, parenting, ADHD, and related topics listed in her profile.
How would she describe her therapeutic approach?
Her approach is practical and skills-focused, using CBT alongside ACT, DBT, attachment-based and client-centered methods to link insight with concrete practice.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She has 25 years of experience working in a range of settings including outpatient clinics, hospice, homeless services, and trauma-informed programs.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) licensed in California and Washington and practices in Washington state.
Which languages are supported?
Sessions are offered in English.
Does she work with international clients?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
How are session costs handled?
Cost varies with location and sessions use a subscription that can be canceled at any time.
What steps do I take to start?
Select the See online therapy options button, complete the short matching questionnaire, and schedule a first session.
Details come from information the therapist supplied to BetterHelp. A license can be checked with the state board.
Online talk therapy is not emergency care. If you are not safe, use the crisis numbers.