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While a person can feel better after a good talk with a friend or relative, for moderate or severe physical and or emotional distress, this relief may only be temporary.  I am a mental health counselor with 20 years of experience as a survivor of chronic pain and Fibromyalgia.  I also know from my own experience, that there is a tremendous need for therapists who, not only specializes in mental health, chronic pain and illness, but who truly understands what a person is going through, when dealing with the emotional turmoil of dealing with chronic pain and or chronic physical or emotional illness.

I call the illnesses such as Fibromyalgia, Lupus, CFS, MS, TMJ/TMD, Arthritis, Mental Illness, including Depression, Anxiety, Addiction/Chemical Dependency and many others, the invisible diseases.  WE DO NOT LOOK SICK.  But inside, many of us feel lost, alone, and are physically, emotionally and spiritually dying.

I am a strong believer of the mind-body connection.  New research in the area of neuroscience has shown that therapy, with or without the addition of medication, plays its own miraculous part in the normal and abnormal development of neurons and neural circuitry into the neuropathological wiring of our brains.  As your therapist, I am not only trained to listen and interact in a way that helps you get to the very root of your emotional concerns, I am also an extremely passionate and knowledgeable person in the area of chronic pain, illness and disability issues.  As your therapist I will do everything I can to help and assist you on your journey to get to a more positive and healthy place in your life again. 
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I am a registered mental health counselor with a Masters Degree in Mental Health Counseling. I have been a member of the Arthritis Foundation for over 20 years and am also a member of the (NFA) National Fibromyalgia Association; the Fibromyalgia Network; ACA (American Counseling Association); WSPA (Washington State Psychological Association); (ISMHO) International Society for Mental Health Online; PSGPN (Puget Sound Group Psychotherapy Network); and the (NAPW) National Association of Professional Women.

I also attend workshops on a regular basis including seminars and classes. I also attend and lead various support groups to heighten my own personal awareness and professional knowledge in the area of mental health, chronic pain, chronic illness, medicine, holistic health and disability issues.  One of the perks of being a therapist, health advocate and a person with chronic pain, I have the opportunity to be able to share with my clients and or therapy groups any new information or research I come across in the area of chronic pain, fibromyalgia, disability or the various other chronic physical and mental illnesses.
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Please see my "Services" page by clicking on the "Services" Icon at the top of this page regarding additional information, including scheduling and fees.
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FIBROMYALGIA/CHRONIC PAIN COMPLIMENTARY SUPPORT GROUPS

I am the group leader of two Fibromyalgia/Chronic Pain complimentary support groups. One group will meet at a quaint coffee shop in Bothell Washington on the 2nd Tuesday of each month from 6:00pm-8:00pm. (PST)  (6:00-6:30 is time to order your beverages/food/snacks, socialize a bit and settle in before our meeting begins). We will have free access to the coffee shop's private meeting room. The cafe also has its own free parking lot.  (For those who have difficulty walking, the parking lot is just a few feet from the cafe's front door entrance). For those of you taking public transportation, the following buses stop directly in front of the coffee house: #120, 121, 312, 372, & 535.

The second support group will meet online in a chat room right here at my website. We have members from all over the United States and other parts of the world. This group will meet on the 4th Tuesday of each month from 7:00pm-8:00pm.(PST) (In order to ensure privacy during our online support group meetings, each person will be emailed a private pin number approximately one week before each meeting, and will need this pin number, in order to gain entry in to the private chat room.) 

Also, if you are new to the whole online chat room support group stuff... no need to worry! You can always just sit, relax, listen and watch the first few online support group meetings, until you feel more comfortable to slowly join in with the rest of us.  But please, feel free to go as slowly as you wish or jump right in a quickly as you'd like.  This group is meant to have fun, learn from one another, chat away.. and just relax for an hour.

Warm Regards,

Shelley


Shelley Thomas, M.A., Mental Health Counselor,
Bothell, WA
Office Phone: 425-770-2838
Email address: PainTherapy@comcast.net
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Pain & Illness is our sign.. A time to embrace our mind, our body and soul.. and begin to listen and pay attention within..
Shelley Thomas, M.A., Mental Health Counselor