Larissa Chen Gonzalez (Swanland), LMHC
Psychotherapist
she/her/女
You may understand yourself pretty well and still find yourself caught in familiar patterns. You may know why you respond the way you do but find that knowing hasn't changed how you feel. You might be highly capable in parts of your life while struggling to know what you want in others, or find yourself caught between caring for the people around you and making room for yourself.
I approach therapy with the belief that none of us can be understood outside of context. Our relationships, families, cultures, identities, communities, workplaces, bodies, and the larger systems we live within shape both the problems we encounter and the ways we learn to survive them. What looks like a problem today may have once been an intelligent way of staying connected, functional, or safe.
At the same time, understanding our context does not tell us everything about who we are.
My foundation is in liberation psychology, and my work is relational and psychodynamic. I'm interested in both the world around you and the world within you: what you know, what you feel, what you want, and the experiences that may not yet have words. I tend to be curious and engaged in session. I may slow us down, wonder about something you've moved past, or notice something happening between us.
Sometimes the patterns we struggle with elsewhere also appear in therapy. You might worry about disappointing me, have difficulty telling me I'm wrong, take care of me, become frustrated with me, want me to know something you cannot quite say, or discover that we understand an experience differently. These moments aren't failures of therapy. They can give us an opportunity to become curious about something together while it is happening.
I don't believe growth necessarily means becoming more independent or leaving important relationships behind. Family, culture, community, and belonging can be sources of love, responsibility, conflict, grief, and meaning at the same time. Our work may involve finding more room to recognize your own experience and choices while remaining connected to the people and communities that matter to you.
Working with children
I also work with children and adolescents. Children do not always communicate their inner lives primarily through words, so my work with younger clients incorporates play, creativity, relationship, and developmentally appropriate ways of expressing themselves. I try to follow the child's language and pace while providing a consistent therapeutic relationship in which difficult experiences can gradually become more manageable and understandable.
When working with children, I also recognize that the child exists within a family, culture, community, and developmental context. Parent and caregiver involvement is considered thoughtfully according to the child's age, needs, privacy, and the goals of treatment.
About me
I locate myself in this work because I don't believe therapists enter the room without a context either.
I am mixed-race and Taiwanese-American, and a Third Culture Kid who grew up primarily overseas in U.S. military communities. Before becoming a therapist, I spent more than a decade working in technology, including AI, robotics, and hardware design. These experiences inform my familiarity with multicultural and military communities, complicated questions of belonging, and the particular environments of technology and corporate work.
Shared experience does not mean I will assume that I understand yours. Our similarities may matter, and our differences may matter too. Part of my responsibility as a therapist is remaining curious about both.
I work with adults, children, adolescents, and relationships around concerns including grief and loss, identity, shame, trauma, attachment and relationship patterns, ADHD and neurodivergence, multicultural and racial identity, life transitions, organizational harm, and relationships with technology and digital spaces.
Areas of Focus
ADHD
Aging
Anxiety
Depression
Grief & Loss
Identity
Life Transitions
Navigating Multicultural Environments
Neurodivergence
Race & Cultural Identity
Relationships & Attachment
Relationships with Technology and Digital Spaces
Spirituality
Vulnerability & Shame
Organizational Abuse
Fees
Individual: $175 hour
Sliding-scale spots available on a limited basis.
Insurance
I am in network with Lifewise and Premera.
Monthly superbills are provided for those wishing to seek out of network reimbursement, you are responsible for communicating with your insurance provider.
Location
I see clients in-person in Des Moines, WA and virtually.
Scheduling Information
I look forward to connecting with you. You can reach me by:
Email: larissaswanland@contextualpsychotherapy.com
Phone: 206-552-0246
Website: https://contextualpsychotherapy.com/
“To know a fish go to the water; to know a bird’s song go to the mountains.”
— Chinese proverb