STaff & Leadership

STAFF


Executive Director & Counselor
Katie Ribera, LMHC

It takes great courage and honesty to reach out for help and say “I can’t do this alone.” This is the brave step you are taking to find a counselor to walk alongside you. I counsel from a blended approach using techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, and Emotion-Focused Therapy. By integrating multiple theories and techniques, I am able to provide care that is individualized and specific to each client’s needs and circumstances. I am also a trained SYMBIS facilitator and often work with dating, engaged, or newly married couples seeking to build a strong foundation for their marriage. I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in Washington.

Counselor

DongWon Park, LMHC
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Are you struggling with loneliness, conflicts, burdens from the past, troublesome behaviors, or cultural baggage? Maybe there are strong feelings you long to process or you are in the middle of a relationship that seeks reconciliation. These experiences can leave you with anxiety, confusion, and stress. If you are seeking a person who would listen to your stories, I want to create a safe space and time with you. I am a 1st-gen immigrant and have been counseling people as a pastor and counselor in diverse settings for over a decade utilizing techniques from Emotion-Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and a Person-Centered approach. I am also a trained SYMBIS facilitator and often work with dating, engaged, or newly married couples seeking to build a strong foundation for their marriage. I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) in the state of Washington.
Languages Offered: English & Korean

Counselor

Amanda Peterson, LMHC
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Living with anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is miserable. It holds people hostage. Over time, anxiety wears you down and can lead to depression and hopelessness. The distressing and intrusive nature of OCD creates shame and isolation. I work with kids, teens, and adults to help them break free from the cycle of anxiety. I have received specialized training under the supervision of Alec Pollard, PhD (Clinical Director of the Int'l OCD Foundation's Behavioral Therapy Training Inst.), and have extensive experience providing evidence-based treatment for anxiety, OCD, and PTSD. I treat all types of OCD (e.g., scrupulosity, contamination OCD, "Just Right" OCD, intrusive and unwanted thoughts), social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, phobic disorders, panic disorder, agoraphobia, separation anxiety, perfectionism, and post-traumatic stress disorder. I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) licensed in Washington, Missouri, and Illinois.

Counselor

Jordan Brand, LMHC
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I believe that at the core of who we are, we long to feel seen, heard, and known. We were created to flourish in our relationships, but so often our relational experiences feel disconnected, confusing, and messy. It's my hope that through building a safe and trusting relationship, we can work together to bring greater wholeness and healing in your relationships with self and others as we work through the places where you feel stuck. I enjoy working with individuals, couples, and families from an attachment-focused and trauma-informed framework, and my advanced training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) guides the way I hold the experiences and emotions that clients bring with them and gives us a roadmap of where to go based on their goals. I feel particularly drawn to working with issues such as anxiety, depression, marriage and family distress, emotion regulation, attachment trauma, parenting, spiritual concerns, and life transitions.

Counselor

Suzy Thompson, LMHC
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I believe that we are all made for relationship with one another. Relationships are where we learn about love, comfort, hope, courage, joy, and empathy. They are also where we unfortunately learn about betrayal, fear, rejection, abandonment, abuse, and pain. I hope to come alongside you as an empathetic and trustworthy listener to help you make sense of unhealthy patterns that have kept you stuck and to provide real hope, growth, and change in the context of healthy relationship. I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the state of Washington with over 10 years of experience helping those facing marital and relationship distress, grief, depression, anxiety, abuse, trauma, and life transitions. I am an attachment-oriented and trauma-informed therapist who focuses on process, experience, and emotion. I enjoy working with couples and individuals using Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) and Lifespan Integration. I am able to see clients via telehealth or in-person at my office in Bellingham.

Counselor

Caewyn Barnett, LMHC
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I provide individual and couples counseling as well as parenting support for those with ADHD or family members with ADHD or executive functioning challenges. Using a whole person, psychodynamic approach and incorporating behavioral methods such as CBT and solution-focused therapies, I seek to bring a warm and inviting presence to therapy. Additionally, I love working with families, couples, adolescents and adults experiencing anxiety, conflict, trauma, and life stressors. We will consider how your past and current behaviors, beliefs, and relationships are connected to your present struggles and how you might challenge or change the way you relate to the world in order to pursue growth and flourishing. I am also a trained SYMBIS facilitator and often work with dating, engaged, or newly married couples seeking to build a strong foundation for their marriage.

Counselor

Hannah McIlhargey, LMHC
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I view therapy as the process of building a relationship as we explore together whatever you're experiencing - both what is difficult and places where you feel successful. I believe that we as humans are meant to flourish, but there are all kinds of things that get in the way. These things may be currently happening in your life or deeply rooted in your history. While we will spend much time dealing with the specific issues that brought you into counseling, we will also take time to look at your relationships with significant people in your life. Using a whole person, relational approach and incorporating behavioral and evidence-based methods such as DBT, I work with individual adolescents and adults experiencing eating disorders, childhood trauma, anxiety, depression, and various life transitions and stressors. We can discover together how you have been hurt, how you are currently being hindered, and where you need healing in your relationships.

Counselor

Kara Atkinson, LMHC
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Therapy offers a unique opportunity to engage you and your story - to explore with curiosity and kindness, to be seen and heard, to heal and grow. I approach our work together by inviting a trustworthy, professional collaboration to explore your relationship with yourself, with others, and with the stories that have shaped who you are today. I work with adults and couples experiencing anxiety, depression, mood disorders, and life transitions, as well as with those who have experienced childhood trauma or abuse. I also enjoy working with helping professionals who have experienced vicarious trauma or burnout. I utilize a relational psychodynamic approach to counseling that integrates attachment theory, narrative therapy, and behavioral techniques.

Counselor

Vanessa Lim, LMHCA
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Therapy does not make hard things easy, but it can make confusing things clearer. My hope is to work with my clients towards real change, greater flexibility, and honesty in the context of a compassionate relationship, all of which are necessary for healing and flourishing. I work with individuals who struggle with intense emotions, out of control behaviors, OCD, addiction, trauma, abuse, spiritual/religious concerns, and suicidal/self-harm behaviors. I have received extensive training in comprehensive Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and also am trained in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), Cognitive-behavioral therapies, and psychodynamic theory. I build my practice on the best that the research has to offer while also integrating the wisdom found in one’s personal and cultural values. I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate (LMHCA) under the supervision of Amanda Peterson, LMHC.

Counseling Intern

Hallie Gao
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Our lives can become burdened with fear, hurt, anxiety, shame, and despair, but there is hope. I would be honored to help you work through your burdens without judgement and with kindness so that you can heal. I work with a variety of counseling modalities, my foundation being in person-centered counseling which promotes healing through genuine acceptance and empathy. My previous career was in teaching, so I enjoy working with young people and their families, as well as adults of all ages. I am a student intern at Bell Tower Counseling while I pursue my master’s degree in preparation for licensure, and able to work with kids, teens, and adults. I am also a trained SYMBIS facilitator and often work with dating, engaged, or newly married couples seeking to build a strong foundation for their marriage. l am working under the supervision of Caewyn Barnett, LMHC. I look forward to walking alongside you to meet your goals so that you can live the life you intend.

Student Intern

Jesse Moline
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Our health is a complex picture involving nature and nurture, input and output.
Biological factors and genetics, as well as our story, lived experience, physical health,
and that which we consume (mentally and physically) and give out, all help make up our mental and physical health. I am an Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner who
works in Community Behavioral Health with 12 years experience in healthcare settings including substance rehabilitation, critical care, and education. I am pursuing postgraduate education and training as a Psychiatric Mental Health NP and am spending winter 2024 with the counseling team at Bell Tower to be immersed in mental health assessment, screening, diagnosis, and counseling techniques so that I can better serve the holistic needs of the patients I work with. l am working under the supervision of Caewyn Barnett, LMHC, and Amanda Peterson, LMHC. 

ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF




Clinical Support Coordinator

Elisabeth Haggard

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS


Caewyn Barnett

Joy Hadden

Jared Michonski
Jessica Ribera
Abby St. Hilaire
Angela Wheeless