Mary Howland (she/her)

I am a Washington licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Associate working in Seattle. I received my training through Antioch University Seattle’s Couple and Family Therapy master’s program. As a trained marriage and family therapist, I am a systems therapist. This means that in our work together, I consider all the systems you exist in, and how these may impact your struggles. I believe that when we look at how we are interconnected to our families, partners, communities, and our various identities, we can help relieve stigmatization, isolation, and shame that often overwhelms us when we are struggling. I believe that counseling is a co-creative processes, and I work with all my clients to find the approach that best suits their unique needs. I actively consider my clients’ experiences and identities, and how experiences of oppression might influence current struggles and behaviors. I aim to always provide a warm, open and safe environment for my clients in which grow and heal.

I came to my career as a therapist through well over a decade as a social justice activist, working specifically on issues of immigration rights, marriage equality, and US foreign policy. While activism is still close to my heart, I also learned that change needs to happen on both a societal level, as well as on a personal level. My desire to connect with those in my community and support them as they grow and heal through life's trials and traumas led me to this career. I believe that by working through issues of overt and internalized oppression can create personal liberation. To this ends, I use an anti-oppression framework with my clients, and actively engage with and address issues of systemic oppression clients' experience.