Experience Life Counseling of Vancouver - Couples & Marriage Therapy
I am passionate about relationships, both those we have with our spouses, partners, families, and friends and the one we have with our self.
I see healthy relationships as foundational to healthy lives. In therapy sessions.
I help
couples and
individualsexperience life more fully. This means identifying strengths, learning new skills to productively deal with difficult life experiences, finding hope, addressing trauma, and discovering new approaches to assist in your growth.
To better serve you, I continually invest in training and have given special focus to working with couples, attachment styles, parenting, and trauma. When I am not counseling, I enjoy spending time with my husband and three teenage children. We feel privileged to live in beautiful Vancouver, WA where I also have an avid interest in the educational systems of our community. For fun, I enjoy reading, watching movies, and spending time with friends and family at local coffee shops and restaurants.
We are Made for Relationship
I am consistently regarded as a warm and compassionate therapist who brings authenticity to our work together. My desire is to provide a safe, non-judgmental place for you to be heard and feel cared for. I create space for you to learn more about yourself and your spouse or partner, find hope, and discover new approaches to have deeper and more satisfying relationships.
I view people holistically and strive to understand your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual self.I see life's difficulties and the challenges bringing you to counseling as relational issues. Whether you struggle to be kind to yourself, experience anxiety or depression, are grieving a loss, or are struggling in your friendships or intimate relationship, these can all be viewed through the lens of your experiences with others.
I offer
couples counseling and
individual counseling in Vancouver, WA using, among others, Emotionally Focused Therapy, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Family Systems, and Cognitive Behavioral approaches.
I earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Washington State University and a Masters of Arts in Counseling from Multnomah University, graduating Summa Cum Laude.My training and experience focus on integrating attachment-based theory in counseling with couples and individuals. I have worked with people with a wide variety of relational and mental health difficulties and see therapy as a collaboration between you and I to meet your goals.
Qualifications
- Licensed Mental Health Counselor (Washington state)
- M.A. Counseling, Multnomah University
- B.S. Psychology, Washington State University Certifications
- National Certified Counselor Candidate
What to Expect
Getting Started
The first step is to
contact me! We will then schedule a free phone consultation so I can find out about your needs, how I can help you, and you can get to know me a little bit more.
Fees
$125 per 50-minute couples session$110 per 50-minute individual session$100 per 50-minute premarital session
Payment & Insurance
Payment is due at the beginning of each session. I accept cash, check, credit cards, flex spending accounts (FSA), and health savings accounts (HSA).
While I do not want to discourage you from using your insurance benefits,
Experience Life Counseling does not bill insurance. We are happy to provide you with an invoice or superbill for you to submit to your insurance company for out-of-network reimbursement. Depending on your out-of-network insurance coverage and benefits, your sessions may be covered in part or in full. Experience Life Counseling recommends you contact your insurance company via the number listed on your insurance card to find out more about your out-of-network benefits.
Here are some questions that have been helpful for some in determining benefits and eligibility:
- Does my health insurance benefit cover individual and/or couples counseling?
- Do I have a deductible due before coverage begins? If so, how much is it and how much has been applied to it so far this year?
- Is there a limit on the number of sessions that are eligible for coverage in a given year? If so, how many sessions are eligible for coverage?
- Do I need a referral from my primary care physician to be eligible for mental health coverage?
- How much does my benefit reimburse for out-of-network counseling sessions?
- Is there a restriction on the license category of my mental health provider?
Financial Need
Please do not let financial need stop you from
contacting me. I offer a limited-number of reduced-fee appointments for those with demonstrated financial need.
Cancellations
If you are unable to keep your scheduled appointment, please contact me at least 24-hour in advance of your scheduled time. Cancellations within 24-hours of your scheduled appointment will result in a fee equal to the cost of the session.
Couples Counseling
For married and unmarried couples wanting to improve and deepen their connection
50 min. | $125
Whether you are having a hard time communicating, resolving conflict, blending a family, or dealing with betrayal, there is hope for your relationship. I am trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy which goes beyond the traditional rehashing of the past and behavioral changes often found in couples counseling and works on strengthening the emotional bonds between you.
We work together to understand what brought you to the place you are and what keeps you stuck there. We then use the emotional connection between you to move you out of the negative cycle you are stuck in and to create a deeper, more intimate connection. I have seen success with a wide variety of couples - including those separated, ready to divorce, and those where infidelity has occurred.
Individual Counseling
50 min. | $110
Regardless of the difficulty you are experiencing, I want you to know that you are heard and cared for. I use a variety of approaches when working with individuals depending on your needs; these include EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectal Behavioral Therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy for Individuals, and Internal Family Systems, to name a few.
I am passionate about you valuing yourself and treating yourself with kindness and compassion. I want you to not just live, but experience life to the fullest.
Premarital Counseling
An 8-session program for engaged couples on the path toward marriage
50 min. | $100
In these sessions we look at core relationship areas including: communication, conflict resolution, financial management, sexual expectations, leisure activities, families, relationship roles, personal habits, and any spiritual beliefs. As part of this program, I provide you with the Prepare-Enrich Assessment which identifies your relationship strength and growth areas.
Together, we cover the material through exercises and discussion to provide you with the best possible start to marriage.
How to Maintain Your Mental Health and Enjoy the Holidays
Updated: Nov 27, 2018
I don’t know about you, but it seems to me that every year is going by more quickly. Whether I am ready for it or not, Thanksgiving has already passed and December is quickly coming upon us again. The holidays can bring a lot of fun enjoying family traditions and finding ways to bring joy to others. It can also bring with it extra busyness trying to fit more activities into an already packed schedule, financial and emotional stress of buying the “perfect” gifts for everyone, and the anxiety that may come from real or imagined family obligations.
This holiday season, my goal is to be mindful of my time, energy, and finances and look for ways to take care of my mental health before I cater to the many stresses and obligations in front of me; my holiday wish is the same for you!
Contact
Heather Pace, MA, LMHC
Experience Life Counseling of Vancouver
Couples & Marriage Therapy400 E. Evergreen Blvd, Suite 210
Vancouver, WA 98660
