about Held Well
Held Well Counseling is a private practice in Washington State. you’ll see references to both therapy and counseling throughout the website as they are interchangeable!
therapists may start their own private practice so they can have more freedom and flexibility over their schedule and the type of clients they see.
Madeleine is the owner and only therapist at Held Well Counseling and built this practice out of a desire to work with a niche group of people - specifically around issues of body image, deconstructing from religion, anxiety and depression, and developing queer identity as an adult.
about Madeleine as a therapist
she/they
my therapy style is warm, contemplative, direct, and I’m a big fan of utilizing humor. clients will often hear me say “sounds really human to me,” and “it’s hard to be a human.” these statements have helped me to feel held well in times of uncertainty and confusion when others have offered me a compassionate lens of normalcy, which is what I aim to do with clients.
I am a counselor who will allow for and facilitate moments of silence in session as I find that silence can allow clients to take a moment to pause, reflect and engage with their own thoughts — it is not my goal to fill that space. I’ve been known to shed a tear during therapy, bearing witness to clients’ stories is one of the greatest privileges of my life, and I am prone to embrace the empathy that often arises in the tender moments.
while I have lived experience of some intersections of oppression as a queer, exvangelical, small fat human — there are still many intersections of privilege that I hold as a white female-identified person living on the stolen land of the Duwamish people.
about Madeleine as a person
I am a white, mid-sized, queer exvangelical in my 30s living in the PNW. the exvangelical-to-helping-professional pipeline isn’t uncommon, but my desire to be a therapist was cemented during my 20s when I worked with youth in crisis. I’m a highly sensitive person and didn’t grow up in a culture that discussed mental health or provided tools/space to help people navigate their identity, so holding others well as they navigate these challenges is one of my great joys in life.
the other great joys in my life when I’m not at work are hiking and backpacking (and any activity that gets me into the woods), taking photographs of trees, crafting, tending to my many houseplants, listening to music, reading fiction and listening to non-fiction, and baking sourdough bread for my friends.
counseling through all seasons
