NORTH TACOMA PSYCHOTHERAPY

Insurance- Friendly Practice

K. ARMAND PHD LMHC

Rediscover Your Inner Peace

Through mental health counseling, transpersonal psychotherapy and/or yoga therapy, I am delighted to offer you compassionate listening as well as powerful and transformative practices to assist you on your contemplative and healing journey. “With every true friendship, we build more firmly the foundations on which the peace of the whole world rests.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Let's Talk

Private Yoga Therapy Sessions

An opportunity to develop a more holistic lifestyle that is tailored to your needs.

Get Started Today!

Creative Expression

An effective way to realize one’s full potential via access to different levels of consciousness.

Enjoy my original artwork!

Helping You Create Freedom

Through A Combination of Yoga and Psychotherapy

Apply spiritual practices such as breath work to your daily life.

Get Started



Sense your connection to the heart-mind



Rediscover your inner power by establishing present moment awareness



Learn how to create freedom from emotional pain



Apply spiritual practices as well as compassionate listening

Psychotherapy ~ Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy

If you have been depressed, anxious, or if you struggle with difficult emotions due to mental health issues psychotherapy may help you:



Fully Present

Step out of “auto pilot” and live more fully in the present moment instead of dwelling on past regrets or worries about the future



Attitude Enhancement

Develop an attitude of patience, self-compassion, open-mindedness, curiosity



All-Encompassing Mindfulness

Cultivate mindfulness of mind, body, thoughts, and emotions



Discover You

Get in touch with the full range of your inner and outer resources for learning, growing and healing.

What Is Yoga Therapy for Mental Health and Psychological Well Being?

The science of Yoga provides a clear, consistent path with practices and additional resources that facilitate living a completely healthy life. With the combination of Yoga psychology and psychotherapeutic practices, it is possible to cultivate some freedom from our habits, a sense of acceptance and a life based in wellness. Along with Ayurveda, a sister science of Yoga, we can determine which lifestyle practices, when applied with consistency, help an individual to achieve a greater sense of mental, emotional and physical health.

Yoga Use In Healing

“Yoga therapy is not merely a therapy of diseases of the body and mind but a therapy of consciousness.” – Yogacharya B. K. S. Iyengar

When Yoga is used to heal it is known as “Yoga chikitsa,” or Yogic therapy. The use of Yoga to heal is distinct from its practice for liberation or enlightenment, which is known as “Yoga sadhana.” Yoga Psychology is best thought of as a collection of lifestyle practices that helps to calm the mind and body. Yoga can work in conjunction with traditional mental health care, to create the back-drop of self-care that assists the individual in returning to their natural state of equanimity.

Two Ways of Treatment: Purification and Pacification

“The techniques of Yoga are methods of purifying the nervous system so that it can reflect a greater degree of consciousness and our lives can become an increasingly positive force in the world” – Alistair Shearer

Yoga therapy includes two ways of treatment. The first is called sodhanavidhi, the method of purification, and the second is called samanavidhi, the method of pacification. Though asana-pranayama therapy falls mainly under the method of pacification, it plays both roles. Some of the practices that are included in treatment are as follows:

Breathing exercise (various forms) with appropriate application (Pranayama)
Gentle Postures such as restorative poses with the use of props and assistance by therapist (Asana)
Self-inquiry with loving attention by therapist that facilitates increased self-awareness that we are more than our stories
Ayurvedic-based energy point work by therapist (Marma therapy)
Mindfulnessbuilding exercises and focusing of attention such as candle gazing (dharana)
Hand position with affirmation (Mudra-a spiritual hand pose)
Appropriately assigned chants (various forms) and listening to vibratory sound (Mantra)
Visualizations with goal of creating attitude shifts (Bhavana)
Client-created authentic sankalpa(setting intention, attitude or resolve)
Body-scanning exercises that allow a safe recovery of body sensation (Yoga Nidra)

As the consciousness gets involved in yogic practices, change in the biochemical substance of the body takes place through proper blood circulation and metabolism. That is how Yoga works as a natural medicine. Through yogic practices, the prana (life force energy) within the body is vitalized for dynamic psychological growth. Hence we create the correct internal environment for the combination of yogic practices and yoga psychotherapy to facilitate the evolution of consciousness.

A Commitment to Health

The process of healing always begins with a commitment to maintaining health. As the Western medical model undergoes major shifts, many of us are realizing that we must take responsibility for maintaining our own health and well being as much as possible. We must find within ourselves, the motivation it takes to prioritize sustainable wellness practices as well as preventive care.

Private Yoga Therapy Sessions

Develop a more holistic lifestyle, tailored to meet your needs

Start Shaping Your New Life Today

Principles That Underline Every Private Session



Health

Each individual has an innate urge towards health (Mahat in Sanskrit). This kind of work explores the unique relationship each student has with themselves and with their commitment to cultivating wellbeing.



Nonharming

Nonharming (Ahimsa in Sanskrit). Each session is founded on trust and respect that an individual will establish their own explorative pace through mindfulness practices, Yoga therapies, and psychotherapy.



Mindfulness

Mindfulness (Atha Yoga Asunam in Sanskrit). The intention underlying each session is to increase our ability (both therapist and client) to be present fully and to be able to witness their experience for the benefit of each other.



Community

Self-Study within Community (Svadyaya in Sanskrit). Support through “together action” is encouraged. A number of resources will be explored to reconnect with family, friends, and our communities to increase our positive contribution to the world.

Find Success Through Yoga Therapy & Psychotherapy

Which Therapy Is Right

For Me?

Brief descriptions of the differences between Counseling, Psychotherapy & Yoga Therapy can be found to the right.

By practicing tuning into our inner voice, through mindfulness and Yoga practices in combination with counseling or psychotherapy we are guided to a greater awareness of our natural state of well being.

Private sessions may involve wellness assessment(s) including an analysis of the breathing patterns. These assessments can help determine the direction of our work together, the goal always being a healthier relationship to the Self. Daily routines, adaptation of yoga asanas, breathing practices, mindfulness practices, some dietary suggestions and other practices are all offered as concrete methods by which to develop a life in which your longings are acknowledged and your hope is renewed.

Sessions start at $150/hr.

SCHEDULE A SESSION



Counseling

Counseling is more short-term and deals with immediate life challenges.



Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy usually involves a longer commitment to navigating more difficult,persistent emotional and behavioral issues.



Yoga Therapy

Yoga therapy is a combination of Yoga & Ayurveda which form a comprehensive and integrated working model to address all aspects of our health and well-being.



Mix and Match

I invite clients to mix and match from a variety of therapeutic services, including:

individual counseling, psychotherapy and/or yoga therapy sessions
phone or online sessions if appropriate
meditation groups (donation-based) through the Ocean Light Zen Center or South Sound Zen
Inspirational & Informational Blog
email support for existing clients

About K.

K. Armand PhD LMHC

Over A Decade of Clinical Experience

K. Armand works as a transpersonal psychotherapist and yoga therapist. She holds a Washington state license in Mental Health Counseling. K. has been practicing and studying Yoga since 1978. In 1999 she became a certified Yoga instructor and since has continued her studies by obtaining a PhD through Yoga therapy research. Dr. Armand was an adjunct professor at both Bastyr University and College of Psychology, Counseling, and Social Sciences. Currently K. is an adjunct professor at her Alma mater school, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (Sophia University).

Through her outreach efforts, other mental health professionals interested in the uses and limitations of yoga therapy treatment for anxiety, addictions and eating disorders, have increasingly sought her perspective

The Healing Breath, Vol. 8, No. 1 by Karen.

Meet Me

My Philosophy of Care

Honoring diversity and embracing universal human truths, I ask good questions, questions of meaning. If you long for a life that is based on purpose and meaning, we will work together to keep you focused on making choices that reflect your highest values.

I practice a collaborative style of psychotherapy where our clients and therapists agree to enter into a therapeutic relationship as well as on the direction of the work together. I draw upon attachment theory, humanistic and transpersonal theories as well as interpersonal and developmental approaches.

Besides counseling and psychotherapy, experiential interventions are utilized. These interventions include but are not limited to yoga therapies and mindfulness practices. Drawing on the wisdom traditions as a way to view healing we help others discover their own way.

Testimonials

Out of respect for privacy and to maintain trust, we do not solicit stories. We are profoundly grateful to our clients who volunteer to share their journeys as a part of their healing process in hope that others will be encouraged in their own healing journey. Here are a few …

“K. helped me to see my life in a new light.”

“I woke up this morning and realized I have meant to send you a big thank you for your work with Sophie. 18 months after moving in with me, she is now: drug free, clear eyed and communicative, employed full time at … and proud of herself, dating and just this week, started living with, a truly nice guy. I’m sending you a photo of Sophie playing disc golf on Vashon Island. Says it all.

I imagine that you don’t always know how stories end up, and there may be a time she wants more of your help–but just wanted you to know that Sophie has become herself and I am a very lucky Mom.”

Breath As Prayer

Walk in the fresh air,
Breath as prayer,

Inhale deeply,
Exhale slowly.

Enjoy breathing.
Breathe three times for those struggling to now.
Breathing as an act of praying, believing we are one.

In breath we are one,
through the air that we breathe,
through the life that we love,
through the death that we die.

Creative Expression

Creative expression is an integral part of each human being therefore I believe it is an effective way to access different levels of our consciousness and to realize one’s full potential.
Archival prints of my original artwork can be purchased. If interested or have questions, contact me.

Still Undecided?

Are We A Good Fit?

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across
the doorsill
Where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.
– Rumi

Make An Appointment

I believe in empowering clients to change behaviors and implement new practices to address the root causes of their health challenges. Changing behaviors requires more work than taking a drug. It takes repetitive attention and action, along with inner changes in consciousness and priorities. Therefore my ideal client would be those who are committed to taking responsibility for the creation and maintenance of their well being, who appreciate the therapeutic process and spiritual practices, appreciate direct and honest feedback and can agree to focus on the issues of their therapy. I believe that spiritual practices (such as mindfulness) are an important adjunct to psychotherapeutic work. My research interests include breathwork and the mechanisms of psychological integration as seen through the lens of Yoga philosophy and psychology.

Frequent Asked Questions

Do you have a sliding scale?

Several slots per week are reserved for clients who need to pay on a sliding scale. Feel free to ask if there is any reduced fee availability when you contact us.

Do you take insurance?

This is an insurance-friendly practice. We provide you with all the necessary documentation that insurance companies require to reimburse you for counseling services. We are happy to answer any questions you might have about insurance reimbursement.

Do you accept electronic payments?

Yes. We use both the Square app and the IVY app for electronic payments.

What is your billing process?

We provide a complimentary billing service. Your claims are submitted to your insurance company by us.

What insurance companies are you paneled with?

I am a preferred provider with the following medical insurance companies:
Aetna
Blue Cross Blue Shield
First Choice
First Choice EAP
Humana
Kaiser HMO
Kaiser Permanente PPO
Lifewise
Optum
Optum EAP
Premera
Providence
Regence
United Healthcare

What can I expect from psychotherapy, and what does returning to wholeness look like?

While the process of returning to a more integrated, whole and healthy state is different for everyone, there are some universal traits that are the result of successful therapeutic work. These traits may be experienced on all levels of our being, the physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual levels. Some of those traits include an increase in your sense of purpose, peace, self-esteem, vitality, resilience, an increase in your capacity to remain open-hearted and the courage to be honest with yourself.

Are you just going to sit there and listen during our counseling or psychotherapy session?

Compassionate listening is a very big component of counseling. However, developing a therapeutic relationship is also important. My style is collaborative and attentive without offering advice. I may offer insight and instruct in mindfulness if appropriate and desired by you.