Works with
- Anger
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
How Patricia works
Practical facts
- Credentials
- LMFT
- Licensed in
- California, Washington
- Years in practice
- 25
- Languages
- English
- Session format
- Online, through our partner platform
About Patricia
Patricia Sumlin is a licensed marriage and family therapist who helps people who are overwhelmed by stress, anger, or life changes. She works with adults facing anxiety, depression, relationship strain, addictions, grief, ADHD, and issues tied to trauma and abuse. Patricia aims for practical progress and clear skills you can use between sessions.
Her style is direct and respectful. She emphasizes honest feedback along with steady support. Sessions focus on building emotion regulation, coping skills, and clearer thinking so people feel more competent and steady in daily life.
Background and approach
Patricia draws from several clinical approaches to shape treatment choices to each person. She uses methods that include cognitive behavioral techniques, acceptance and commitment ideas, attachment-focused thinking, client-centered listening, and some skills from dialectical behavior therapy. These inform how she helps people change painful patterns and manage strong emotions like anger.
She has 25 years of experience and has worked in a wide range of settings. Those include outpatient clinics, residential programs, hospice counseling, homeless services, and programs serving Native communities and justice-involved populations. That background informs practical ways to handle complex problems and co-occurring issues.
Patricia practices in Washington as a licensed marriage and family therapist - LMFT. Her sessions are offered in English and include video calls, phone, live chat, and text messaging. The approach is collaborative: she helps people decide which tools and strategies fit their goals.
What Patricia works with
Everything Patricia lists, in the therapist's own terms. Anger is the reason this directory exists; the rest tells you what usually sits alongside it in Patricia's practice.
- Stress, Anxiety
- Relationship issues
- Family conflicts
- Trauma and abuse
- Depression
- Addictions
- LGBT
- Grief
- Intimacy-related issues
- Eating disorders
- Sleeping disorders
- Parenting issues
- Anger management
- Self esteem
- Career difficulties
- Bipolar disorder
- Coping with life changes
- Coaching
- Compassion fatigue
- ADHD
- Abandonment
- Adoption and foster care
- Aging and geriatric issues
- Antisocial personality
- Attachment issues
- Autism and Asperger Syndrome
- Avoidant personality
- Blended family issues
- Body image
- Cancer
- Caregiver issues and stress
- Chronic pain, illness, and disability
- Co-morbidity
- Codependency
- Commitment issues
- Communication problems
- Control issues
- Coping with natural or human-caused disaster
- Dependent personality
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD)
- Dissociation
- Divorce and separation
- Domestic violence
- Drug and alcohol addiction
- Eating and food-related issues
- Emptiness
- Family of origin issues
- Family problems
- Fatherhood issues
- First responder issues
- Gender dysphoria
- Guilt and shame
- Hearing impaired
- HIV / AIDS
- Hoarding
- Hospice and end-of-life counseling
- Immigration issues
- Impulsivity
- Infidelity
- Intellectual disability
- Isolation / loneliness
- Jealousy
- Life purpose
- Men's issues
- Midlife crisis
- Veteran and Armed Forces Issues
- Money and financial issues
- Mood disorders
- Multicultural concerns
- Narcissism
- Obsessions, compulsions, and OCD
- Panic disorder and panic attacks
- Paranoia
- Personality disorders
- Phobias
- Postpartum depression
- Post-traumatic stress
- Pregnancy and childbirth
- Prejudice and discrimination
- Process addiction (porn, exercise, gambling)
- Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
- Self-harm
- Self-love
- Sex addiction
- Sexual assault and abuse
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sexuality
- Social anxiety and phobia
- Trichotillomania
- Visually impaired
- Women's issues
- Workplace issues
Approaches Patricia lists
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Client-Centered Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Gottman Method
- Jungian Therapy
- Mindfulness Therapy
- Motivational Interviewing
- Narrative Therapy
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Trauma-Focused Therapy
- Internal Family Systems
Listing an approach is not evidence of training in it. This directory copies what each therapist names and does not check training records.
Therapeutic approaches you can use online
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) teaches practical ways to notice painful thoughts and feelings while moving toward what matters to you. It can help with anxiety, depression, and problems like anger that get in the way of making choices you value.Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interact. It gives clear skills to change unhelpful thinking and behavior, which is useful for anxiety, depression, anger, and sleep or eating concerns.
Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationships shape expectations and reactions in adult relationships. It can be helpful for people dealing with intimacy issues, trust, or patterns of conflict in close relationships.
Finding the right approach is part of the work. Patricia will collaborate with each person to match methods to their goals, needs, and preferences. She adjusts techniques as progress is made so sessions remain useful and relevant.
Online sessions include video calls, phone sessions, live chat, and text-based messaging to fit different lifestyles. Video lets you work face to face; phone calls use less bandwidth and can fit a break at work; chat and text can support brief check-ins or ongoing coaching between sessions. These options make therapy more flexible and easier to fit into a busy life.
Questions people ask about Patricia
What kinds of problems does Patricia address?
She works with adults facing stress, anxiety, depression, trauma and abuse, addictions, grief, anger, relationship and family concerns, ADHD, and related issues.
How would you describe her therapeutic style?
Her approach is straightforward and compassionate, combining listening with practical skills and honest feedback to help people manage emotions and change unhelpful patterns.
How much clinical experience does she have?
She brings 25 years of professional experience across outpatient clinics, residential programs, hospice, homeless services, and work with Native communities and justice-involved populations.
What are her credentials and where is she based?
She is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) with CA LMFT and WA LMFT LF licensure and practices in Washington.
Which languages are supported for sessions?
Sessions are offered in English.
Can international clients work with her?
She does not accept international clients at this time.
What session formats are available?
Sessions can be conducted by video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging.
How are fees and getting started handled?
Cost varies by location and therapist availability and uses a subscription that can be canceled at any time. To begin, select the Start Therapy button, complete a short matching questionnaire, and schedule based on therapist availability.