“I’m not telling you to make the world better, because I don’t think that progress is necessarily part of the package. I’m just telling you to live in it. Not just to endure it, not just to suffer it, not just to pass through it, but to live in it. To look at it. To try to get the picture. To live recklessly. To take chances. To make your own work and take pride in it. To seize the moment. And if you ask me why you should bother to do that, I could tell you that the grave’s a fine and private place, but none I think do there embrace. Nor do they sing there, or write, or argue, or see the tidal bore on the Amazon, or touch their children. And that’s what there is to do and get it while you can and good luck at it.”
Joan Didion, Slouching Towards Bethlehem
Hello!
Hello! I’m Kai Scantlin, a licensed clinical psychologist who works remotely with adults living throughout the state of Washington, as well as in states covered by PsyPact (if you are curious if you live in a state that participates in PsyPact, please see this map).
I’m here to help you identify where and why you’re struggling, and to help you figure out what changes would help you build a life that feels meaningful, sustainable, and like something you’re proud of.
I believe that while we cannot avoid pain entirely, we can live inspired, inspiring, brilliant lives alongside it. Working with me can provide you with an opportunity to take a fresh approach to challenges that may have existed for a very long time, and to find answers that may not have been obvious before.
My Approach
I use a combination of warmth, curiosity, honesty, and respectful humor, and I take a collaborative approach to therapy – while I will always prioritize listening closely to what you’re saying, I’ll also share my own thoughts and perspectives as they arise. I work well with individuals who are actively engaged in therapy and who trust – or would like to trust – their own experience as a valid guide. I see you as the only person who can truly decide what is important to you, and I see myself as someone who can offer some insights and tools that will help you get closer to it.
My Background
My undergraduate education is in philosophy, and I see therapy as a chance for us to engage in “live-action philosophizing,” with a focus on helping you explore how you relate to yourself and the world around you. I believe that you have the capacity, the right, and the responsibility to determine who you are and how you fit into your life, and I will help you explore the ways in which cultural norms, familial expectations, oppression and marginalization, and other such factors may have shaped your experiences, as well as the possible emotional, social, and personal impact of choosing to create and live your own life.
How I Can Help
While the field of psychology has an enormous amount to offer in terms of broadly applicable knowledge, I excel at helping clients figure out what might work for them on an individual level. Over the course of my career, I have come to believe more and more in our ability to know what we need, but for many of us, our ability to connect with our own wisdom is blocked by fear, self-doubt, and the weariness brought on by trying to do “the right thing” even when it doesn’t actually feel right. I want to help you develop a plan that draws on both the wealth of knowledge of the field of psychology, as well as the enormous amount of self-knowledge and wisdom you already have.