Chris White

Online & In-Person

Marriage & Family Therapist

Bellingham, Washington, California

About Chris

My name is Chris White and I have been practicing for 15 years. I work with motivated adults, couples that are stuck but not experiencing intense conflict, and mature and motivated teenagers with families that are willing to consider family therapy if recommended. An area of focus is folks interested in using Internal Family Systems to increase their ability to choose, harmonize their inner world, and increase their access to attributes such as compassion, curiosity and clarity.

Office Location

12 Bellwether Way, Ste 220, Bellingham, WA 98225

Suite 202

Bellingham, Washington 98225

Get Directions

Costs and Insurance

$200 per session

Sliding Scale

Out of Pocket

Aetna

Blue Cross Blue Shield

First Choice Health

Kaiser Permanente

Premera Blue Cross of Washington

Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon

How do you work with clients with anxiety?

I often start with collaboratively investigating your particular anxiety experience to understand it's physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual affect on you, as well as its causes. I use a combination of Internal Family Systems, relevant neuroscience psychoeducation and family systems processes to help you find a pathway to less anxiety and a more balance and calm.

Why did you become a therapist, and what motivates you to continue?

Therapy has felt like a calling for me, but is also something that I find congruent with my approach to the world, and an interesting way to support my family.

For people that are hesitant to try therapy, what do you wish you could tell them?

Therapy can be challenging and scary, but can also bring relief. Therapy is a space where clients set the pace and the agenda. It can be a place of learning, a place of self-expression, and/or a place of healing, among other things.

What should people thinking about working with you, know about you?

My view of all people is informed by two systems theories, general family systems and Internal Family Systems. As a result, I believe that we do not exist in a vacuum, but in the context of various relationships with others people and institutions. That said, I also believe strongly in the power of the human spirit, so while we generally cannot escape relationship or institutional influence, we do have some amount of choice and self-determination; this balanced view allows me to have compassion and empathy for struggle while also hope that people can effect change in their lives. I am both client-centered in my style, but also comfortable providing psychoeducation when appropriate. I attended a Christian Seminary for my Master's in Marriage & Family Therapy. While this relates to my own faith, unless it is a fit for your faith, I use that training only in that I see humans as having a spiritual dimension to them, which may or may not be religious. I ask clients what works for them in this regard and I am very intentional about not applying my biases to clients. If anything I believe therapists should know their biases well in order to keep them in check. I do work specifically with spiritual trauma and matters of faith deconstruction.

What does a typical session with you tend to look like?

A follow up session will typically involve either picking up where a previous session left of, with client permission or would involve me collaboratively identifying a topic for focus. With clients interested in using IFS, it would involve often working with parts to increase understanding about behavior or validating experience. I also often provide relevant psychoeducation, often through use of metaphors and analogies.

How do you work with clients with relationship issues?

If I am working with couples, I ask process questions in order to understand the pattern of conflict, what has prevented the couple from resolving these. I also explore the particular underlying needs for each person and help them communicate these to one another using assertive communication, which I will likely provide education on unless this is not needed. Sometimes these three items are sufficient, but where they are not, I help couples explore what is preventing them from implementing these things. Often times, there are ways that the couple is triggering one another's trauma, or re-opening old wounds caused in relationship. In this case, we would work to address them. I primarily use Emotionally Focused Therapy with couples, along with elements of Internal Family Systems, particularly when there are wounds involved.

How does trauma focused therapy work and how can it help?

Treating trauma is generally slow, with much time given to developing safe rapport in therapy, as well as assuring that clients feel sufficiently skilled to handle distress that often arises in working with traumatic experiences. In treating trauma, I use a combination of Internal Family Systems with what I have learned about the Central Nervous System and how it is impacted by trauma. In IFS, we believe that we can not only reduce distress caused by traumatic experiences, but that we can connect to the part of us that holds the memories/emotions, and heal them by connecting to this part from a place of centered Self. The result of effective trauma treatment, particularly using IFS, is that memories or relationships that were once charged with distress, which often shows up as anxiety or panic attacks, can be resolved, allowing the person to have greater choice in this aspect of their lives.

How do you work with clients with stress?

I find it valuable to collaboratively investigate stressors in your life, as well as available coping tools, your self-care regimen and the degree to which you have balance or can reasonably find balance between work and rest. I also find it important to help you evaluate thoughts and expectations that parts of you have that may also contribute to your stress.

Interested in talking?

(360) 306-5797