Specializing in High-Achievers, Burnout, and Unprocessed Grief
Online throughout Washington
Online Therapy for High-Functioning Anxiety in Washington
Finally, a Therapist Who Sees Through Your “I’m Fine” Performance
You’ve built an impressive life in Washington. From the outside, you're the one everyone else turns to: the reliable one, the problem-solver, the person who somehow manages to keep all the plates spinning. Maybe you’re living through the intensity of the tech world, managing a healthcare practice, or leading a team while working from home. You’re successful. Competent. You have it all together.
And you’re exhausted from holding it all up.
That tightness in your chest when you check your work email at 6am…
The way your shoulders creep up to your ears during every Zoom call…
The mental gymnastics you perform to anticipate everyone's needs before they even ask…
Your body is keeping score of every moment you’ve pushed through instead of paused, every time you said “I’m fine” when you were drowning.
This Isn’t Your Typical Seattle Therapy Experience
I’m Jeniffer Duncan, a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Washington (LMHC MHC.LH.61685622), and I work with clients who are tired of performing their way through life. My clients come to me when talk therapy has taken them as far as words can go: they can perfectly explain their feelings and behavior, and yet they still find themselves in the same exhausting cycles.
Here’s what makes our work different: I combine art therapy and somatic approaches because real change doesn’t happen in the part of your brain that's already analyzed everything to death. It happens in your nervous system, in the way your body braces for impact before your mind even registers danger, and in the creative parts of yourself you’ve learned to silence.
I don’t do surface-level work. When you slip into your charming “everything’s under control” routine, I’ll gently call you on it. When you intellectualize your feelings instead of feeling them, I’ll guide you back into your body where the real information lives. This isn’t because I want to make you uncomfortable (though you will be at times). It’s because I know you’re ready to stop managing your life and start actually living it.
Beyond Traditional Talk Therapy: Art and Body-Based Healing
Your anxiety isn’t just in your head; it’s in the way your jaw clenches during meetings, how your stomach knots when someone's tone shifts, the way you hold your breath without realizing it.
Traditional therapy might help you understand why you're anxious, but understanding alone won't release the anxiety stored in your nervous system.
Through art therapy, you’ll express what words can’t express. No artistic skill required: this isn't about creating something beautiful, it's about letting the perfectionist part of you take a break while other parts finally get to speak. That anger you can't express at work? It might come out in the way you tear paper for a collage. The grief you've been “handling so well”? It might finally move through you as you work with clay.
Somatic therapy helps you recognize where emotions live in your body and how to process them instead of pushing through. You’ll learn to trust the wisdom of your instincts again; the same instincts you’ve been overriding with logic and willpower for years.
Who This Work Is For…
My Washington clients are high-functioning professionals who are exceptional at taking care of everyone except themselves. You might be:
A healthcare provider who absorbs everyone’s trauma while ignoring your own
A tech professional whose anxiety has become as constant as your WiFi connection
A business owner who has built success on perfectionism and people-pleasing
Someone juggling caregiving responsibilities while maintaining a demanding career
A professional whose “work-life balance” is just work wearing different masks
You’re probably brilliant at your job, loved by your colleagues, and the friend everyone calls in crisis. You might even be in a helping profession yourself. I work with many therapists, nurses, doctors, and counselors who know all the “right” answers but can't seem to apply them to their own lives.
you’re in the right spot.
When Grief Compounds Your Anxiety
Sometimes what looks like anxiety is actually grief wearing a business suit. The high-functioning professionals I work with often carry losses they’ve never fully processed:
A parent's death you "handled well"
A miscarriage you never talked about
The career you left behind
The marriage that ended
Or simply the life you thought you’d have by now
In Washington's achievement culture, we're expected to take our bereavement leave and bounce back. But grief doesn't follow corporate timelines. It shows up in your anxiety spirals, in the exhaustion that sleep doesn’t fix, and in the way you can’t quite connect with joy anymore even when everything looks perfect from the outside.
Whether your grief is fresh or decades old, “acceptable” or the kinds of losses others don't recognize, it needs space to be felt and witnessed. Through art therapy and somatic work, we'll help it move through you instead of staying frozen in your chest, creating another layer of anxiety you have to manage.
The specific struggles vary: anxiety that won't quit despite your meditation app, grief that ambushed you years after a loss, or childhood trauma that your successful adult life was supposed to fix. What you have in common with my other clients is this: you're ready to stop performing wellbeing and start actually living it.
What Working TOgether Looks Like…
Our sessions happen entirely online, which means you can do this deep work from your home, your office, or anywhere in Washington. No commute through traffic, no awkward waiting room encounters, just you in your own space doing the real work.
This isn't quick-fix therapy where you get to stay comfortable. I'll push you when you need to be pushed, and provide safety when you need to fall apart. You'll learn to recognize when you're people-pleasing in real-time, how to set boundaries without the guilt hangover, and how to experience your feelings without being consumed by them.
Some sessions we'll use art materials; nothing fancy, just paper, pencils, maybe some magazines for collage. Other sessions we'll focus on what your body is telling you, learning to decode its signals and respond with compassion instead of criticism. Always, we'll be working toward the same goal: helping you trust yourself again.
Investment and Logistics
Fee: $250 per 55-minute session, $375 for 90-minute intensive sessions
Schedule: Monday through Wednesday, limited afternoon availability
Location: 100% online throughout Washington State
Insurance: I don’t accept insurance but can provide monthly Superbills for out-of-network reimbursement if your plan allows that
This is you finally choosing yourself after years of putting everyone else first. This is you deciding that your mental health is worth as much as your annual tech conference budget or your family’s vacation fund.
Ready to Stop Pretending Everything’s Fine?
You don't need another coping strategy or breathing exercise. You need someone who can see through your performance to the exhausted, brilliant, complex human underneath, and help you become friends with her again.
The first step is admitting you can’t think your way out of this. The second step is reaching out.
Your Washington Therapist
Jeniffer Duncan, LMHC
I combine art therapy and somatic approaches because the patterns you're trying to change aren't stored in the logical part of your brain. They’re held in your nervous system, your body, and parts of your psyche that words alone can’t reach.
While you can intellectually understand why you feel anxious, or why your grief hasn’t resolved, lasting change requires working with the whole person.
That’s where I come in.
Jennifer Duncan, Washington LMHC
License MHC.LH.61685622 · Verify with State Board
Let’s Get Started
Contact Me
Contact me to schedule your first therapy appointment.
Complete this form and I’ll be back in touch via email, text, or phone within 1-2 business days.
Call or Text
503-974-4140
jduncanlpc@gmail.com
MAILING ADDRESS (Services are conducted 100% online)
4207 SE Woodstock Blvd. #398 Portland, OR 97206
FAQs About Therapy for High-Functioning Anxiety
Do you accept insurance for therapy in Washington?
I don't accept insurance directly, but I can provide monthly Superbills for you to submit to your insurance for out-of-network reimbursement. Many of my clients use their HSA/FSA funds for sessions.
What’s the difference between high-functioning anxiety and regular anxiety?
High-functioning anxiety looks like success from the outside; ie, you're meeting deadlines, excelling at work, managing everything. But inside, you're on edge, overthinking every interaction, and exhausted from performing "okay." You probably don’t "look" anxious, which is why others miss your struggle.
What can I expect in the first session?
We'll explore what brings you to therapy, identify behaviors that aren't serving you, and I'll explain how art therapy and somatic work can help. Most clients leave feeling truly seen for the first time in a long time.
What areas of Washington do you serve?
I provide online therapy throughout Washington State, including Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, Spokane, Vancouver, Sammamish, Kirkland, Redmond, and all surrounding areas. As long as you're physically in Washington during our session, I can see you.
I’m not artistic. Can art therapy still work for me?
Absolutely. Art therapy isn't about making "good" art; it's about expression without having to use words. You'll use simple materials like paper, pencils, or magazines. The messier and more imperfect, the better. This work is about letting your perfectionist rest while other parts of you finally speak.
How long does therapy take?
This isn't quick-fix therapy. Real change happens over time as we work with your nervous system. Some clients find significant relief in a few months, while others work with me longer to address deeper trauma. We’ll regularly assess your progress together.
How is online therapy different from in-person therapy?
Online therapy offers the same depth of healing from the comfort of your own space. You won't need to commute through Seattle traffic or find parking. Many clients find they open up more quickly in their own environment. We'll still use art therapy (with simple materials) and somatic techniques work beautifully over video.
How do I know if my old grief needs therapy?
If you're functioning well at work but feeling disconnected from joy, if a loss from years ago suddenly feels fresh, if you're grieving something others don't recognize (like a career change or diagnosis), or if your body holds tension that won't release, your grief needs space to be processed.
What is your training and experience?
I'm a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Washington (LMHC MHC.LH.61685622) and also licensed in Oregon as an LPC and Licensed Art Therapist. I have specialized training in trauma, grief, anxiety, and somatic approaches, with over 15 years of experience.