Individual Therapy at Lori Kimmerly Therapy, Renton WA and online across Washington

Space to Work Through What Feels Stuck

Individual therapy gives you a consistent, private space to work on what is actually going on — anxiety, low mood, grief, a life transition, or patterns that keep repeating. Our licensed therapists work with adults, and several also see teens and children.

In person in Renton, WA · Online throughout Washington · Most insurance accepted

In Short

In person in Renton, WA
Online throughout Washington
Most insurance accepted
Self-pay $40–$150

Insurance

Premera, Cigna, Aetna, Kaiser, Molina, Coordinated Care, Community Health Plan, WellPoint, TriCare, United.

Availability

Now accepting new clients — in person and online.
Schedule Your Consultation ›

From Our Blog

What Is IFS Therapy?
Read the Article ›

What Is Individual Therapy?

In anxiety, the brain’s paired alarm centers — the amygdalae, deep in each temporal lobe — stay on high alert. Therapy helps them learn to settle.

Individual therapy — also called psychotherapy, talk therapy, or individual counseling — is one-on-one support with a licensed therapist, focused on you: your patterns, your history, and what you want to change. There is no single right reason to start; people come to therapy for very different reasons, at very different points.

Anxiety or worry is affecting your daily life
You feel low, unmotivated, or stuck more often than not
You are processing a major life change — a breakup, a move, a career shift, a loss
Past experiences keep resurfacing in your current life or relationships
You notice the same patterns repeating and want to understand why
Self-criticism or low self-esteem gets in your way
You simply want a consistent, confidential space to think things through

Why People Reach Out

From working through something hard to simple personal growth — tap a topic below to see how individual therapy can help.

You get through the day, but it costs more than it used to. The to-do list ends and your body never gets the memo — shoulders tight, jaw set, sleep thin. When stress stops easing up between the things that caused it, therapy helps you build a nervous system that can settle again — not just cope harder.

Everyone keeps asking if you’re excited. Mostly, you feel lost. Moves, breakups, new jobs, becoming a parent — even good changes can pull the floor out from under you for a while. Therapy gives you a steady place to sort out who you are on the other side.

You would never talk to a friend the way you talk to yourself. The replaying, the “why did I say that,” the quiet certainty that everyone else has it together. Therapy helps you understand where that voice came from — and how to turn its volume down.

The world moved on faster than you did, and now it hits at random — a song, a smell, an ordinary Tuesday. Grief does not follow a schedule. Therapy offers a place to feel it fully, without anyone rushing you to “move on.”

On paper, things are fine. So why does it feel like you’re living someone else’s life? Figuring out what you actually want — apart from what you were taught to want — is real work. Therapy is a place to do it without judgment.

The what-ifs start before your feet hit the floor, and your mind treats every maybe like an emergency. Therapy helps you step out of the loop — and teaches your body that it’s allowed to stand down.

You used to care about this. Now you’re running on fumes and quietly resenting the things you chose. Burnout is not fixed by one good weekend — therapy helps you find where the drain is and what needs to change.

Different job, different relationship — somehow, the same ending. When a pattern follows you everywhere, it usually has old roots. Therapy helps you see it clearly and finally do something different.

Something happened a long time ago, and lately it keeps showing up — in your reactions, your relationships, your sleep. You do not have to retell everything to start. Therapy moves at a pace you control.

Types of Individual Therapy

No two people arrive for the same reason, so we do not run a fixed program. Your therapist will get to know your history, what you have already tried, and what you want to be different — then draw on the approaches best suited to that. Sessions are available in person at our Renton office and online throughout Washington.

Internal Family Systems (IFS)

IFS works with the different “parts” of you — the protector that keeps you busy, the critic, the part underneath carrying the hurt. Rather than fighting those parts, IFS helps you understand what each one is trying to do for you, so they can relax. It is one of our practice’s core approaches. Sessions get to know your protective parts first — the inner critic, the overworker, the part that numbs out — and only approach what they guard when your system is ready. Read more about how IFS works →

Often helps with

Inner criticism and harsh self-talk
Feeling pulled in two directions at once
Old wounds that resurface in current relationships

EMDR

EMDR is used to help the brain reprocess distressing memories so they lose their grip. It is particularly associated with trauma and PTSD work. We have therapists who offer EMDR specifically. In sessions you hold a difficult memory briefly in mind while following side-to-side movement or tapping — bilateral stimulation — giving the brain a second chance to file the memory properly. You do not have to retell what happened in detail for it to work.

Often helps with

Intrusive memories and flashbacks
Distress that spikes without obvious cause
Single-incident and childhood trauma

Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT)

ACT helps you stop fighting difficult thoughts and feelings and instead build a life around what matters to you. It focuses on psychological flexibility and values-based action rather than trying to eliminate discomfort. Part of the modern cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) family, ACT in practice means learning to notice difficult thoughts without obeying them, making room for uncomfortable feelings, and taking small steps guided by what you actually care about.

Often helps with

Anxiety that grows the harder you fight it
Avoidance that keeps shrinking your world
Reconnecting with what actually matters to you

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic therapy explores how past experience and out-of-awareness patterns shape present-day feelings and choices, building insight over time rather than focusing only on symptoms. It is often a strong fit when quicker symptom-focused work has not lasted — the understanding you build is meant to keep working long after sessions end. The patterns that run your life were usually laid down early and operate out of sight — who you pick, what you avoid, the standards you punish yourself with. Surfacing them is what makes lasting change possible instead of willpower-deep. Our therapists also draw on narrative therapy and CBT techniques where they fit the person in the room.

Often helps with

Recurring patterns you cannot explain
Long-standing low mood or emptiness
Wanting insight, not just symptom management

Somatic & Mind-Body Approaches

Distress lives in the body as much as the mind — the tight chest, the clenched jaw, the restless nights. Somatic work brings the body into therapy, helping you notice and settle those physical patterns rather than only talking about them. Practically, you learn to track what your body is doing under stress, use breath and grounding to settle activation, and rebuild a sense of safety from the body up — especially useful when you can talk about a problem fluently but nothing shifts.

Often helps with

A body that will not settle or switch off
Panic, tight chest, clenched jaw, restless sleep
Feeling disconnected from physical sensation

More About How Therapy Works

The questions people actually wonder about before starting — open any of these.

How does talking to someone actually change anything?

Several ways at once. Putting a feeling into words takes some of its charge away — a worry you can name is easier to handle than a knot you can only feel. Once you can see a pattern, you can catch it in the moment and do something different. The therapy relationship itself is a practice ground for honesty and boundaries. And between sessions, the work keeps going — most change happens in the days after a session, not during it.

How is therapy different from talking to a friend?

A good friend listens; a therapist listens with training — tracking patterns across weeks, noticing what you avoid, and choosing evidence-based responses instead of reassurance. There is also no social debt: you never have to manage a therapist’s feelings, return the favor, or run into them at dinner. Complete confidentiality changes what can be said out loud.

What are the signs it is time to start therapy?

The reliable ones: the same problem keeps circling back no matter what you try; your usual ways of coping are fraying or turning costly; people close to you are getting the overflow; or you are functioning fine on paper and feel empty anyway. None of these require a crisis. The best time to start is usually earlier than people give themselves permission for.

How do I get the most out of my sessions?

Three things make the biggest difference. First, talk about what is actually bothering you — not the polished version you would tell a coworker. That includes telling your therapist “I’m not sure this is helping,” which is one of the most useful things you can say. Second, try the tools and small experiments you and your therapist come up with between sessions, even if you do them imperfectly — most of the real change happens out there, not in the office. Third, keep coming when progress feels slow. Growth in therapy comes in waves, and a flat week or a hard one does not mean it is failing — it is usually part of how the change settles in.

What to Expect: Your First Session and Beyond

1Reach out

Fill out the contact form or call the office. We’ll match you with a therapist who fits and schedule a complimentary consultation.

2First session

Your therapist gets to know you — what brought you in and what you want to be different.

3Early sessions

Together you start naming the patterns you want to understand and building tools that fit your life.

4Ongoing work

Sessions continue at a pace that works for you — usually weekly to start — with regular check-ins.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does therapy cost per session?

Individual sessions run $40–$150 depending on which therapist you see. We accept most major insurance, self-pay is welcome, and a limited number of reduced-fee spots are available.

How do I know if I need therapy?

There is no threshold you have to meet. Most people come because something feels stuck, heavy or repetitive, not because things reached a crisis. A consultation is a low-pressure way to find out.

What happens in the first therapy session?

Your therapist will ask what brought you in, what you have already tried, and what you want to be different. It is a conversation, not an interrogation, and you control how much you share.

How long will I need to be in therapy?

Some people come for a few months around a specific issue; others stay longer for deeper work. Your therapist will check in with you regularly about progress and goals.

Can I switch therapists if it is not a good fit?

Yes, and it is worth doing. Fit matters more than almost anything else in therapy. Tell us and we will help you move to someone else in the practice.

Does insurance cover therapy here?

We accept Premera Blue Cross, Cigna, Aetna, Kaiser Permanente, Molina (Medicaid), Coordinated Care, Community Health Plan, WellPoint, TriCare, and United Health Care. Coverage varies by plan, so contact us to verify yours before your first session.

Is online therapy as effective as in person?

Yes — telehealth sessions use the same approaches, and many clients find it easier to attend consistently. We offer online therapy throughout Washington.

Is individual therapy confidential?

Yes. What you share in session is protected by therapist-client confidentiality and Washington state law. There are a small number of legally required exceptions (for example, imminent risk of harm to yourself or others), which your therapist will explain clearly before you begin.