Agate Passage Suzanne Ivey, PhD

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	Suzanne Ivey, Ph.D. *suzanneivey@agatepassage.com* (Washington License #1604) I am a clinical psychologist with more than thirty years of experience helping individuals (children, adolescents, and adults) and families in a variety of settings. I enjoy working with people of all ages, and with the full spectrum of issues that might bring one to seek counseling. Though I specialize in treatment of anxiety, depression and mood disorders, I also work with relationship issues, eating disorders, parenting concerns, coping with physical illness or life transitions, anger and stress management.
	Style and Specialty My orientation is cognitive behavioral, within the context of bio-psycho-social and developmental factors. That means that I believe that our present behavior, emotions and interactions are a function of biological factors, our habitual thoughts and perceptions, our experiences, and the demands of our immediate environment. Effective interventions are based on well-established conceptual models and solid data, but that information must be accessible to the individual. Thus, I help identify how the factors coming from each of these areas influences your present situation, and what resources are available to elicit change to move you to your objective. I draw upon my training in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Whether your goal is defeating anxiety, mastering painful depression, managing pain or illness, making a difficult decision, or helping your child establish a sleep pattern, my objective is that you will gain insight and skills that will be generalized. My approach is supportive, active, engaging, straightforward, conceptually and data based, positive, empowering, and sometimes even fun.
	I seek to provide an environment of trust, security, confidence and confidentiality in which change can best occur. I work closely with medical providers when medical therapies are indicated. With the client’s permission, I also work collaboratively with other professionals and community resources. Above all, I respect the capability of the people who seek my services to make changes in a healthy direction, and I honor the energy, time and resources that go into this process.
	Biography and Training I earned my Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Bowling Green State University in 1975. I taught a few years in the doctoral program in clinical-community psychology at the University of South Carolina, and then was Director of Training in Psychology at Children’s Memorial Medical Center in Chicago, where I trained both psychology and pediatric residents. I moved to Washington with my family, and have been in private practice in Bainbridge and Poulsbo since 1992.
	My clinical work and research in each of these settings included work with people of all ages: infants with high risk birth, families coping with very sick children, adolescents in many challenges, adults in transition, and elders struggling with vulnerability and health issues. Much of the work has held in common: the process of setting objectives for change, confronting barriers (of thought and perception, as well as environment), identifying personal and community resources, developing positive coping strategies in challenging situations, committing to change, and bringing what professionals know to useful form in the hands of people who can put it to use. In all these situations, I have also experienced the power of compassion, hope, wisdom and humor, learned from those with whom I have had the privilege of working.
	Insurance and Rate Information My usual and customary fee is $150 for a fifty-minute session, though the first session is usually $200. I am a preferred provider for most insurance plans in this area. Most insurance plans set a contractual rate, and fee arrangements are possible where insurance is not available. I encourage you to check with your insurer for details of your coverage.
	Office Information I am in the Bainbridge office on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 7, and in the Poulsbo office on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 to 7.