PuttingFamilyFirst

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PS Portrait of Patricia Sumlin
Online therapist

Patricia Sumlin

Calm guidance for stressful family moments

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Credentials
LMFT
Experience
25 years
Licensed in
California, Washington
Languages
English
Format
Online sessions

About Patricia

Patricia Sumlin is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 25 years of experience who helps people dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, addiction, grief, and parenting challenges. She offers grounded, practical support aimed at restoring steadiness and helping clients manage day-to-day struggles. Her style is direct and nonjudgmental so people feel heard and respected from the start.

Patricia uses a mix of well-known methods to match each person’s needs. She draws on cognitive behavioral techniques to identify unhelpful patterns and on dialectical behavior ideas to build emotion regulation skills.

Background and approach

She also uses acceptance and commitment ideas to help people clarify values and take small, meaningful steps forward. Her background includes work in community clinics, residential programs, hospice counseling, and developing DBT groups. That range informs how she addresses problems like trauma histories, complicated grief, and long-term health challenges.

She has also worked with Native American and Native Alaskan communities and settings that served people with co-occurring substance use concerns. In sessions she focuses on concrete tools you can use between appointments. That might mean skills for managing intense feelings, ways to change thoughts that create problems, or strategies to improve communication within families.

She aims for practical problem solving alongside building deeper understanding. Patricia practices in Washington as a California and Washington LMFT - CA LMFT 44844 and WA LMFT LF 60059026. She provides care in English and offers multiple online session formats to fit different schedules.

Therapeutic approaches and how they translate online

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy helps people notice painful thoughts without getting stuck and focus on actions that match their values. It is useful for anxiety, depression, and coping with life changes. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy looks at how thoughts and behaviors keep problems going, and teaches concrete skills to change them, which can help with anxiety, mood, and sleep issues.

Choosing the right approach is a collaborative process. The therapist will listen to your concerns and goals, then suggest methods that fit your situation. You and the therapist will adjust the plan together as you try techniques and notice what helps most.

Online formats include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging. These options make it easier to fit therapy into a busy schedule and let people use tools between sessions. Many clients find that practicing skills and checking in by message helps keep progress steady while maintaining flexibility.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Less about arguing with difficult thoughts, more about loosening their grip and acting on what matters to you anyway. Values and committed action carry the work, which suits conversation at a distance.

Attachment-Based Therapy

Looks at how early bonds shaped what you expect from closeness, and how that plays out now with a partner, a parent, or your own children.

Client-Centered Therapy

The direction comes from you rather than from a set programme. The therapist offers a warm, non-judgemental space to think out loud and work at your own pace. Online, this rests on the relationship rather than on being in the same room.

Frequently asked questions

What kinds of problems does she help with?
She works with stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addiction, grief, parenting, anger, self-esteem, relationship and intimacy issues, and other listed concerns.
What is her therapy style like?
Her approach is straightforward and nonjudgmental, focusing on practical skills and insight. Sessions often combine skill practice with discussion about values and coping strategies.
How long has she been practicing?
She has 25 years of clinical experience across community clinics, residential programs, hospice care, and DBT group development.
What credentials and location information should I know?
She is a licensed marriage and family therapist: CA LMFT 44844 and WA LMFT LF 60059026, and she practices in Washington.
Are sessions available in other languages or countries?
Sessions are offered in English. International clients are not currently accepted.
Which session formats are offered?
Sessions can be done by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to fit different needs and schedules.
How does payment and cost work?
Cost varies by location and therapist availability and uses a subscription model that can be canceled at any time.
What should I do to get started?
Click the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule a session according to therapist availability.

Specialties and expertise

Top specialties

Also works with

Therapeutic approaches

Experience
25 years
Licensed
California, Washington
Languages
English

Next step

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