Tara Bates , LMHC

Tara Bates is a licensed mental health counselor in Washington with 12 years of experience. She focuses on helping people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, intimacy concerns, self-esteem struggles, and life changes. Tara has a strong history of working with LGBTQ people and those exploring non-monogamous relationships, and she brings direct, practical support to those concerns.

Tara centers the conversation on each person's experience and strengths. Sessions are conversational and goal-oriented, with space to talk through feelings and decide on small steps that feel doable. She draws on Client-Centered Therapy to follow each person's lead and build trust.

She also uses techniques from Dialectical Behavior Therapy to teach emotion regulation and coping skills. Motivational Interviewing helps clients clarify what matters and move toward change without pressure. Tara mixes these methods to match a client's needs and goals.

Tara is comfortable addressing topics such as kink and alternative sex culture, gender dysphoria, HIV/AIDS, postpartum depression, workplace stress, and communication problems. She aims to make discussions direct and nonjudgmental so clients can name what’s hard and test new ways of handling it.

People who choose Tara should expect straightforward conversations and practical tools. She prefers to set a regular schedule with each person so progress stays steady and predictable.

How therapeutic approaches work online

Client-Centered Therapy focuses on listening and following what matters to you. The therapist creates space for you to tell your story and helps you set the pace and focus for sessions. This style is useful when the goal is to feel heard and understood.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, teaches practical skills for managing intense emotions and reducing reactive behavior. Online DBT work often includes learning and practicing concrete coping strategies that can be used between sessions to handle stress and anxiety.

Therapeutic approach is a shared decision. Tara will help you choose which methods to try based on your goals, needs, and preferences. That means adjusting techniques over time and checking in about what feels helpful so the plan stays useful and realistic.

Online sessions are offered as video calls, phone sessions, live chat, or text-based messaging to make therapy fit your life. Video lets you see body language and have a fuller conversation. Phone can be easier when bandwidth is limited or you want a shorter check-in. Chat and text let you send quick updates or work through things between longer conversations. These options support flexible scheduling and steady progress.