Bina Ellefsen
Psychotherapist
(she/her)
Firstly, it is a brave and beautiful thing to seek healing and growth through counseling, so congratulations on taking a new step along this journey.
Counseling Orientation & Approach
My own experience of being in therapy led me to become a therapist myself—working with couples and individuals. I believe that anyone can benefit from therapy as a process of healing from life’s wounds and traumas and learning to more deeply flourish in one’s interests, passions, relationships, and enjoyment of life.
Most everyone has experienced some form of trauma. While not everyone recognizes or is able to name their own traumatic experiences, many people can more easily notice the effects of trauma in their lives in the form of anxiety, shame, powerlessness, dissociation (or numbing out), addiction, physical ailments, relational troubles, intimacy problems, self-esteem issues, despair, feelings of stuck-ness, and difficulty in tolerating our emotional experience or difficulty in experiencing a full range of emotions. In our natural resilience, we learn ways of coping with trauma that helped us to survive, but these coping mechanisms may no longer be serving us well in our lives today.
I define trauma as a harmful experience of “overwhelm” that disconnects us from ourselves and others. Most people think of trauma as “shock trauma” or events like car accidents, natural disasters, wars, or being the victim of a crime. Trauma can also look like neglect, witnessing the harm of someone else, and missing the relational connections needed to safely process our life experiences.
My philosophy of counseling for individuals or couples is based on attachment theory. All humans were created with a need to attach to other human beings. Just as trauma disconnects us from ourselves and others, healing comes through re-connecting relationship.
As we work together to build trust and connection in the therapy room, we are working on building your sense of internal safety and your sense of safety in your relationships outside of therapy. We will honor your sense of agency, learning to tune into your needs as we compassionately explore what brings you to therapy at a pace that is kind rather than overwhelming. We will develop tools to help you to calm and regulate your feelings and bodily sensations of overwhelm and help you more healthfully experience and express emotion. As you are ready, we will gently tend to your stories, attachment style, personality style, family of origin roles, etc. as they relate to your ways of showing up in the world in your current relationships, style of relating, and symptomology.
In my work with individuals and couples. I utilize several different holistic therapeutic modalities that address mind, body, emotion, relationship, and story. I am trained in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Lifespan Integration (LI), which gently address the effects of trauma without the need to necessarily dive deeply into stories of trauma. These are incredible tools for addressing the effects of trauma that are stuck in our body, an experience for which we often lack words or feel too overwhelmed to fully engage. I am also trained in Trauma-Informed Narrative Therapy, Relationally Focused Psychodynamic Therapy, and Emotions Focused Therapy (EFT), which involve exploring the stories and experiences in your present and past. I draw from Interpersonal Neurobiology, Polyvagal Theory, Inner-Child, Internal Family Systems, Enneagram, and Mindful Self Compassion work. I do not believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to therapy, but rather believe in a tailored approach through mutual collaboration between therapist and client(s).
My approach to couples’ therapy is trauma informed. I emphasize understanding the attachment needs that underlie conflict and areas of stuck-ness. We look at the ways the past informs the present with attention to the emotional experience of each member of the couple.
About Me
As the child of Indian immigrants and the wife of a Norwegian immigrant, I am familiar with blessings and challenges that come with navigating multiple cultures. As a brown-skinned South Asian American woman, I know what it is like to grow up experiencing racism, sexism, marginalization, and feeling like an outsider. I also know what it is like to benefit from both Eastern and Western cultural lenses, to appreciate difference and to see the beauty of diversity. As a wife of 20 years, I know how hard, humbling, beautiful and redemptive it can be to forge a life together alongside another person. As a professional, I know the joy and struggle of chasing dreams, pursuing ambitions, and navigating a demanding field. I practiced law for 6 years at a non-profit representing low-income immigrant and refugee survivors of torture, trauma, and domestic violence and mentoring private attorneys and law student interns in the pro bono representation of these clients. My experiences of vocational burnout, church trauma, relational trauma, and infertility led me to seek out therapy and begin a lifelong journey of doing my own personal work. My faith as a Christian informally informs all my work, primarily in my belief that all human beings have unfathomable inherent worth, and that everyone is uniquely endowed with beauty to bring to this world. However, I enjoy working with people of any faith or no faith background and only explicitly engage Christian spirituality upon my clients’ request. I trained under psychologist and author Dr. Dan Allender, graduating with a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology with a special concentration in trauma and abuse.
Credentials: Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology. The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, Seattle, Washington. Juris Doctor. American University, Washington, D.C., Bachelor of Arts. Philosophy and Political Science. University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Areas of Focus
Marriage and Relationships
Trauma and Abuse
Spiritual Abuse
Sexual Abuse
BIPOC
Anxiety
Depression
Racial Trauma and Racial Identity Development
Intercultural
Immigration
Domestic Violence
Narrative/Story Work
Meaning and Purpose
Christian Spirituality
EMDR
EFT and EFIT
Lifespan Integration
Fees
$150 per 50-minute individual session
$225 per 75-minute individual session
$185 per 50-minute couples’ or family session
$277.50 per 75-minute couples’ or family session
Payment is processed on the day of appointment via debit or credit card on file. I have a limited number of sliding scale appointments reserved for those experiencing financial hardship.
Insurance
I do not accept insurance currently.
Location
Telehealth appointments are available for clients anywhere in Washington.
Schedule a Session
To schedule an appointment, please contact bina@binaellefsencounseling.com.
I offer a free 15 to 30-minute video consultation to mutually determine whether we are a good therapeutic fit.
