Carissa Singh
Holistic Therapist
(she/her)
A bit about me:
I am a queer, cisgender, multiracial woman living with chronic illness. I identify as a healer, a seeker, a weaver, and an activist. I live by principles of authenticity, openness and integrity. I am a person who often finds themself in the in-between spaces, from my multi-racial heritage to my status as chronically ill yet visibly abled, I find myself trying to reconcile my identity in a world that asks for us to settle into the tidy boxes we have been provided. As someone who has often straddled the space between identities and roles, between suffering and healing, I consider how we can create new notions of what it means to feel whole, to flourish, to live generatively, to expand far beyond the limits of a box that was always too small to hold all that we are.
My Approach:
Merleau-Ponty posits that we are always first embodied in our world, extant in a meaning making process with everything around us. This way of understanding occurred to me as a felt sense before I knew how to approach it with language. This felt understanding is how I first approach my practice, and the encounter with each one of my clients.
Before I elucidate the modalities I have picked up along the way, I want you to first and foremost know I believe that therapy is about presence and intuition. My role is to turn towards you as fully as possible, and to make myself present to your pain, grief, struggle and fear. Your role is to bring yourself as honestly as possible and to allow me into your world, to know what it is like to be you.
I do not see therapy as “treating” or “curing” a predetermined condition. Rather, I believe in creating a clearing for you to emerge fully in all your ambiguity, nuance and paradox. It is in this kind of space that organic shifts can begin to happen.
While struggle, grief and pain are core parts of the human experience, what we can begin to orient toward is a sense of agency and resilience, to choose how we want to be in relation to our circumstances. I know this because it is my lived experience, in alignment with the explorations I have had into eastern and western theories of suffering and being, as well as all those I have had the opportunity to learn from and encounter in their wholeness. There is so much hope extant within this space, in better understanding oneself mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and as a holistic and interconnected self. My role is to move with you to deepen this understanding and care so you have the tools you need to feel most whole, present, healthy and empowered.
Within the clearing we create I bring my presence to deeply attune to what is hurting in you, what feels out of alignment, or what you long for. Once we begin to truly understand the pain or the emptiness, we can begin to create space for the possibility of change. Often, certain parts of our experience are so rooted in lack, in fear or in struggle that they may be resistant to the potential for transformation, although you may feel ready for change, renewal or expansion. It is vital to work with and hold compassion for all of these parts.
As a human, like you I am always learning and growing as I take in new information and experience, whether that is in the form of ongoing training, through dialogue with others, or engaging my personal mind/body contemplative practices. In this way, I continuously introduce new understandings and paradigms as I sense they can be useful for you. There is no predetermined model of session, but what you can expect is being turned towards with deep attunement, being held with curiosity, and to collaborate in discerning what needs care and what modalities or ways of being held will most deeply serve you. I work with a systems and intersectional feminist lens, some of the modalities that may be brought into our work include existential, psychodynamic and relational, somatic (including poly vagal theory), emotionally focused, internal family systems and narrative therapies.
If what you’re reading has piqued your interest or brought up feelings of hope, curiosity, longing, or even fear or uncertainty I encourage you to connect with me to explore how we may work together.
I deeply look forward to connecting with you.
Areas of Focus
Long-term trauma work and acute trauma care
Internalized oppression
Relational issues, especially with LGBTQIA+ and ethically non-monogamous folx
Somatic/Embodiment work
Gender Identity and the transition process
Identity formation and existential concerns
Deepening into vulnerability and intimacy in all types of relationships
Self-advocacy and empowerment
Practices and rituals that enhance well-being
For Practitioners
I am always looking to deepen and expand community with other healers, please reach out if you would like to connect over hosting a circle or just get to know each other over a cup of coffee!
Please see some of my practitioner facing offerings:
https://www.shelterwoodcollective.com/events/process-group-brave-spaces
https://www.shelterwoodcollective.com/events/person-in-the-practitioner-circle
Fees
Individual Therapy – 50 Minute Sessions – $145
Relationship Therapy – 60 Minute Sessions – $185
(My full fee also includes 3% credit card processing fees)
I generally work with clients on a weekly basis for trauma and in-depth work. If you are looking for shorter term more focalized work, contact me to discuss other options.
I am committed to working to ensure that those affected most by systems of oppression have access to care, therefore I am open to offering sliding scale rates depending on client identities, life circumstances, and participation in anti-oppressive work in alignment with my current availability.
Insurance
As an associate therapist, I am not currently in network with any insurance providers. However, I am an out of network provider and I can provide you with a superbill for direct reimbursement from your insurance plan.
Location
1666 E Olive Way Seattle, I am in-person on Mondays and Wednesday at this Location. I offer telehealth on Fridays and limited telehealth availability on other days.
Scheduling Information
To start the conversation, ask any questions about therapy, or set up a consultation you can email me at: carissa@mosaiccounselingcollective.com
To learn a bit more about me you can check out my website: https://carissasingh.com/
“won't you celebrate with me
what i have shaped into
a kind of life? i had no model.
born in babylon
both nonwhite and woman
what did i see to be except myself?
i made it up
here on this bridge between
starshine and clay,
my one hand holding tight
my other hand; come celebrate
with me that everyday
something has tried to kill me
and has failed.”
— Lucille Clifton