Patricia Sumlin , LMFT

Patricia Sumlin is a licensed marriage and family therapist with 25 years of experience who focuses on helping people navigate stress, anxiety, depression, trauma, and relationship concerns. She speaks plainly and works to create a direct, respectful space where people feel believed and taken seriously. Patricia often supports people dealing with grief, addictions, parenting strain, ADHD, and issues related to intimacy and self-esteem.

Her approach blends practical skills with insight. She draws on cognitive behavioral ideas to change unhelpful thinking and on acceptance strategies to help people live by their values. She also uses attachment-informed work to look at how early relationships shape current patterns. Sessions typically include concrete coping tools, emotion regulation skills, and focused conversations about goals and boundaries.

Patricia has served in many clinical settings over her career. Her background includes running outpatient DBT groups, directing behavioral health in medical settings, working in homeless shelter programs, offering hospice bereavement counseling, and delivering trauma-informed care in rural Alaskan villages. That variety informs how she tailors care to each person's history and needs.

She is licensed as an LMFT in California and Washington, and she practices with an emphasis on multicultural awareness. Patricia regularly works with LGBTQIA people and with adults who want to understand autistic traits and how those traits affect relationships and daily life.

People who choose her can expect straightforward guidance, skill-building, and a collaborative plan to increase resilience and everyday functioning.

How therapeutic approaches translate to online care

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) helps people notice painful thoughts and feelings while taking steps toward what matters to them. Online ACT sessions often include values clarification exercises and behavioral experiments that clients practice between meetings. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviors using tools like thought records and behavioral activation. In virtual sessions, these tools are taught, practiced together, and adapted to everyday routines. Attachment-Based Therapy looks at how early relationship patterns affect current connections and communication. Through focused conversations and reflection, clients learn new ways to relate that can improve trust and closeness.

Finding the right approach is part of the work. The therapist will collaborate with each client to choose and adjust methods based on personal goals, life circumstances, and what feels most useful. That process can include trying techniques from different approaches and tracking what helps most.

Online therapy offers flexibility for people with busy schedules or mobility limits. Video calls allow face-to-face interaction when visual cues matter. Phone sessions can be easier when bandwidth is limited or when a shorter check-in fits a break at work. Live chat and text-based messaging support ongoing check-ins, homework review, and brief problem-solving between sessions. These options make it simpler to keep consistent progress while fitting therapy into a daily life.