Three Reasons to Work with Me
1) I can help you feel better. As a trained perinatal and trauma therapist and experienced parent educator, I have the ability to get you on the right track sooner rather than later. I am integrative, always considering how your biological health intersects with your social and emotional needs.
2) I care, not just as a professional but as a woman and a mother. I’ve been in the trenches. If you are a parent, rest assured that I remember the intense early years of parenting that includes anxiety, sleep deprivation and lack of self care.
3) For all individuals, I can guide you in finding another way, one that addresses your unique needs. Whether or not you are a parent yourself, I can support you and empower the “mothering voice” (or parenting voice) within you.
Dr. Buysse (she, her, hers) is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in women's and parenting issues including those relevant to pregnancy, early adulthood, the postpartum period, and menopause. She is dedicated to supporting all individuals including those part of BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent communities. Dr. Buysse provides support for improved mental health as well as parenting challenging for the early years of parenting. . She has a private practice in Everett and Mountlake Terrace in Washington state and can provide telehealth to anyone in the State of Washington. Dr. Buysse received a doctoral degree from the Wright Institute in Berkeley, California in 2000. She did her postdoctoral training at the Infant-Parent Program at San Francisco General Hospital. She worked as a parent education at Edmonds Community College for ten years. She has a life-long certification in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH-C) and advanced certification in EMDR, https://www.emdria.org/about-emdr-therapy/, a body-based treatment that is especially effective for trauma, anxiety, and depression among others. She was more recently certified as a Brainspotting practitioner, https://brainspotting.com/, another brain-based treatment helpful for trauma and other difficult life challenges. Dr. Buysse considers herself to be an integrative practitioner who uses whatever method is needed to decrease suffering and allow the client to live a fuller, more authentic life.
Dr. Buysse is a member of Perinatal Support Washington (PS-WA), EMDRIA, a trauma-based organization that supports the evidenced-based practice of EMDR, and the American Psychological Association (APA) a well-regarded scientific and professional organization for clinical psychologists. She is also certified in brainspotting, https://brainspotting.com/, a brain-based approach to processing trauma and other difficult experiences.
Dr Buysse is also strongly informed by Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Developing Needs Meeting Protocol (DNMS) two types of ego state (or parts work) that are trauma informed and help to address“stuck” places in a person’s life. Please check out this video to learn more about DNMS: https://www.dnmsinstitute.com/slideshow/. For information about IFS, please click here: https://ifs-institute.com/. Dr. Buysse consults regularly with a trusted colleague to continue learning and growing as a therapist and to address any concerns related to the treatment of clients. As a feminist therapist who also values intersectionality, she works collaboratively with all of her clients always mindful that one’s external environment effects mental health as much as one’s internal psychology. For access to Dr. Buysse’s Implicit Bias Brochure, please click here.
Dr. Buysse is passionate about supporting all parents with young children to become the best parents that they can be, and is influenced by the tenets of Positive Psychology, Nurtured Heart, Good Inside and the works of Daniel Siegel and John Gottman, among others. Like Dr. Becky, Dr. Buysse believes that no matter how much the child or the parent is struggling, both remain “good inside”. Dr. Buysse does her very best to create a therapy environment that is inclusive and affirming for all members of the BIPOC, LBTQ+ and neurodivergent communities. She continually implements practices that embrace and honor the individual, and their specific identies and interests and views her work through the lens of difference not deficit.
Like many women, Dr. Buysse has dealt with some fertility/miscarriage obstacles before becoming a parent. In her spare time, she likes to read, hike, do yoga and spin (cycling), and spend time with friends and family. She is the proud mother of two young adult children and is currently adjusting to her empty nest. Even now, she occasionally finds parenting challenging , and works hard to be present but also to allow her children the space that they need to spread their wings.