Peter Cooper

Qualifications & Experience

I hold an M.A. In Marriage and Family Therapy from National University, a D.Min. in Preaching and an M.Div., both from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a B.A. in Biblical Languages and Bible (Dual Major) from Central Bible College. I have additional training in Emotionally-Focused Therapy (EFT) and Solution-Focused Therapy.

My Call to Christian Counseling

Part of my decision to become a counselor was due to my own upbringing in a family with many struggles. Another part of my decision came from my pastoral experience working with families and realizing that often families needed or wanted more than what my pastoral training equipped me for. Also, my many pastoral roles and responsibilities limited the time I could devote to working with families in a counseling role. Now, my time is devoted more exclusively to therapy and counseling.

More About Me/On a Personal Note

I love riding my motorcycle nearly every day of the year. I enjoy card games and board games. When I have some spare time, I am trying to learn how to play the fiddle and to sail. Getting together with my small group of family and friends is always a blessing.

Areas of Expertise/Specialties

• Abandonment and Neglect
• ADHD
• Aging and Geriatric Issues
• Anger Management
• Anxiety
• Autism
• Bipolar Disorder
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Chemical Dependency
• Coaching
• Counseling for Children
• Counseling for Teens
• Couples Counseling
• Codependency
• Depression
• Eating Disorders
• Family Counseling
• Grief and Loss
• Individual Counseling
• Infidelity and Affairs
• Lifespan Integration
• Marriage Counseling
• Men’s Issues
• OCD
• Online Counseling
• Personal Development
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Premarital Counseling
• Professional Development
• Relationship Issues
• Sex and Porn Addiction
• Sexual Abuse
• Spiritual Development
• Trauma
• Weight Loss
• Women’s Issues

Individual Therapy

Any number of concerns may bring you to counseling. Stress. Anxiety. Depression. Relationships. Perhaps you feel overwhelmed by life. I offer a welcoming, confidential space to explore your concerns, their impact on your life, and how we can journey together to meet your desired goals.

Using emotionally focused therapy, we explore how these concerns impact you. This moves toward making it possible for you to have a direction to interact with the concerns that bring you in for counseling, and provides a way to integrate and apply this to other areas of your life.

Couples Counseling

Whether you are in a committed relationship, exploring marriage, or married, it’s not uncommon for relationships to get stuck. You may have tried a number of ways to fix it, but they don’t seem to work, and you recognize you need help to get unstuck.

Using emotionally focused therapy, we will first work to identify the cycles in which you get stuck so that you can work together as a couple against the cycles. This moves toward establishing a sense of safety, security, and growing emotional bonding in the relationship that equips you to work through other concerns you may have as a couple.

Family Counseling

Just as with couples, families can get stuck. It can feel more complicated because more people are involved. Maybe you have tried everything you know to try, and it doesn’t feel like it has worked to improve your family situation. Now you find yourself in a place in which you want or need help to reach the change you’re looking for.

Using emotionally focused therapy, we will work to identify the cycles in which the family gets stuck. We’ll work to create a welcoming space for all to share how they feel and what they need from one another, helping you to feel closer and more secure as a family.

Trauma

We all experience trauma in one form or another, and to one degree or another. Sometimes you may feel like it’s completely impossible to overcome. Other times, you experience situations that flood you with emotions and insecurity as though you are experiencing the trauma all over again. Perhaps you have experienced multiple compounding traumas, which has magnified the impact on your life.

Using emotionally focused therapy in a secure space, we will explore your relationship with the trauma and how it is impacting your life. Once we reach a place of feeling safer and more secure, we explore how the trauma has impacted how you feel about your own identity. As you approach the end of counseling, you will integrate this experience to be able to work through other areas of your life.

Spiritual Development

Whether you are exploring your faith, growing in your faith, or questioning your faith, it can sometimes feel like you’re isolated and alone, even in a room full of others with a similar faith. Or maybe you have experienced spiritual abuse, and you’re not sure where to turn or how to reconcile your faith with what you have experienced.

Emotionally focused therapy’s foundations in attachment theory, emotions, and present experience provides an ideal space for spiritual development, regardless of your faith tradition. Together, guided by your spiritual goals, we will explore your relationship with your faith and how it guides your life, spiritual practices, and relationships.

Availability (by office location):

• Silverdale – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
• Online (WA Only) – Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Fees: I offer a Risk-Free Initial Session for individuals, couples, and groups looking to pursue counseling with me. Please note that there is a fee for the Risk-Free Initial Session as it is a clinical hour and reimbursable to most insurance companies, but if you choose not to reschedule and continue therapy after the initial session, the entire fee for the session will be waived. For ongoing treatment, the full fee per session is required at the time of service.

Insurance: As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapy Associate (LMFTA) and Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate (LMHCA), some insurance companies will reimburse for a portion of my services (as an Out-of-Network Provider). Please consult with your insurance provider as to whether they specifically cover adolescents, individuals, and couples.

Receipts/Statements: In the event you require a printed or digital receipt, I will provide receipts for personal use, insurance reimbursement, Flex Spending Accounts (FSA), and Health Savings Accounts (HSA).

Payment options: Cash, Check, or Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, & American Express). A fee of up to 4% per transaction may be added for credit card payments.