Heeeeyy!!!! I’m Dr. Courtney (she/her) — a wildly extroverted, wanna be mermaid, who happens to also be a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. I was born in Seattle smack dab in the middle of the Millenial Generation. I grew up on the other side of Washington State, in Spokane, in a super privileged household. Outwardly, I seemed to have it all (which I am so grateful for!), but inwardly, I struggled with so much anxiety and self-hatred. I think there was so much pressure to appear “perfect” given the privilege I had; so, I became one of the very stereotypical white women to develop an eating disorder. I started college at the University of Washington and joined a sorority, and while I really wanted to enjoy that experience, my eating disorder only exacerbated during that time. At the start of my junior year, a close family friend passed away from an eating disorder and that prompted me to finally seek treatment. After a few rounds of treatment, and a few different colleges, I finally graduated from Whitworth University. Obviously, my personal experience inspired my future career (research is me-search!), and I pursued my PhD in Counseling Psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. I matched to my dream internship site at UCSD Eating Disorder Center for Treatment and Research and stayed for my postdoctoral fellowship. I worked at UCSD EDC for a few more years and received high-quality training and experience in eating disorders and Dialectical Behavior Therapy – I don’t think I will ever have a more rewarding, challenging, entertaining, and stressful job (the best of the dialectics!). Then life slapped me in the face (more on that later) and things took a turn – I’m now back in Seattle and am Director of the Eating Disorder Center at the Evidence Based Treatment Centers of Seattle. I think DBT is the best thing since sliced bread (Marsha Linehan is queen!) and am a DBT-Linehan Board of Certification, Certified Clinician™. In addition to eating disorders, I specialize in emotion dysregulation, trauma, and LGBTQIA+ concerns.

So much of my life over the past 10 years has been about my career; and, I’m now being very intentional about figuring out who I am beyond my job and how to live authentically. Something I recently realized is that socializing is my absolute favorite hobby (I’m so much more extroverted than I thought! #socialanxiety). I really love conversations with others, getting to know people on a deeper level, and laughing about ridiculous things. Friends are wonderful – I’m wildly loyal to and supportive of my close friends and there really isn’t much I wouldn’t do for them. For me, friends are truly what make life worth living. Oh! I also found out (realized?) in the past year, after being married to a man, that I am only attracted to women. So radically accepting my identity as a lesbian and cultivating a queer community in Seattle has been a top priority (and wildly beneficial). My dating life has been interesting…follow along and I will share more!

Other than these things, I’m obsessed with all things related to the water. Scuba diving is my favorite hobby (it helps me fulfill my dream of being a mermaid), and one of my top accomplishments is achieving my 100th dive and following through with the tradition of completing it naked (which I did in the Philippines). I really like to paddle board and get out on the lakes around Seattle as much as I can. In the winter, I hate the snow unless I can snow ski, which is another favorite hobby of mine. And finally, I guess I should mention that I have two little wieners (one full ween, one half ween) that are the loves of my life.