Crescent Therapy
A compassionate, judgment-free space to make sense of things, to heal, and to embrace being your truest, fullest self.
Therapy for anxiety, trauma, stress and other distress
Online and in-person in Seattle & WA
Melany Grout, MA, JD, LMHC
If you’re struggling, you’re human. You don’t have to struggle alone.
As people, we naturally desire authentic connection with others and a trusting, loving relationship with our own self. Many things can get in the way or make this difficult. For example, you might feel afraid of disappointing, burdening, or upsetting others, and so you stay self sufficient and highly attuned to others’ opinions, judgments, and needs. This might keep the boat you’re in from rocking, but it can also leave you feeling censored, bottled up, lonely, and exhausted from playing a role.
Sometimes, thoughts and beliefs are a part of this experience. They could sound like:
“I should just be able to handle this. I’m making too big a deal of things.”
“If I stop worrying or pushing myself so hard, things will fall apart.”
“I’m too much. I shouldn’t burden others with my feelings and needs.”
“I can’t reveal my real self to others.”
If these feelings are familiar to you, you might also recognize certain experiences that can underpin or accompany them. These sometimes include:
Anxiety, stress, a tight chest, a racing heart, and negative thought loops.
Flashes of shame or waves of painful memories.
Feeling a lack of self-regard or confidence.
Finding it difficult to communicate or set boundaries.
Feeling lonely and disconnected in relationships.
A childhood where your caregivers couldn’t give you the emotional connection, warmth, or understanding that you needed, even if your material needs were met.
Why therapy? How can it help?
Hello, I’m Melany (she/her). I’m glad you’re here.
Being in healthy, meaningful relationship with others, our world, and our own self is a core human need. Therapy is a space and a process that can support you to better meet this need.
This could mean having a clearer sense of what’s true and authentic for you; feeling more freedom to be who you are and to connect with others as you are; feeling more trust and positive regard towards yourself; and understanding your needs and having a greater sense of agency in meeting them.
Getting started
Reach out for a consult
I offer a free, 15-20 minute consult call (request one here) so we can get a sense of whether we’re a fit. I’ll answer any questions you have and will also want to understand a bit about what you’re looking for.
Sessions
We’ll find a time that works for meeting weekly either by video or in person in the Eastlake neighborhood in Seattle.
Beginning a process of discovery, healing, and growth
As we meet, we’ll work to better understand what is stuck, distressing, or in the way for you. This can involve exploring a number of things, including:
Impactful events and relationships that have shaped your beliefs, your perceptions of yourself and the world, and patterns in how you think and relate with others.
The influence of the world you live in. For many, being in this world means experiencing judgment, oppression, constraints, and various threats. If you find yourself wondering “what’s wrong with me,” therapy might be a space where you identify the illness in the ecosystem around you and how your own distress may be an appropriate, understandable result of that rather than simply a pathology within you.
Fears, anxieties, or needs that are a natural part of the human condition. It’s not unusual to experience concerns related to having a sense of purpose, struggling with choice, or anticipating eventual death and finding meaning in the face of it.
In exploring what’s difficult or painful for you, we’ll especially try to shed light on influences that operate in more unconscious, automatic, or hidden ways. With greater awareness of what affects you, we can also:
Discover what you want to be different.
Hear from wounded parts of yourself that have lacked a non-judgmental, patient, and compassionate space in which to speak and receive care.
Cultivate beliefs and ways of relating that reflect how you wish to be and to live.
Nurture and harness your innate strength and agency towards living how you wish to.