Tend & Refine Counseling
About Hannah Alcoba
As an Asian-American, I am passionate about the intersections of mental health, faith, and race. Your cultural upbringing, ethnically or religiously has shaped you, both in life-giving and painful ways. I see your struggle of sitting in that tension. I see your exhaustion from fighting the negative voices that pervade your thoughts. I see the effort you’ve made to keep going despite constantly "feeling behind" and stuck. You desire to not only KNOW the truth in your head, but to FEEL it in your gut as well. You want to see movement towards what you truly care about and to take up more space: to know that your voice matters.
Ways of being that were once helpful are actually getting in your way of living with meaning and purpose. Our work will revolve around bridging connection between language and body, of your mind and heart. Fuller integration of yourself is possible! I offer EMDR and Lifespan Integration to promote that integration.
I invite you to sit with me and exhale with your body. Together, I hope to create a safe space with you, to witness the unraveling of your story, and begin creating a new tapestry, woven with meaning, freedom, and choice. You hold the power. I am simply here to remind you of that.
Areas of Focus
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Adults 18+
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Self-esteem and self-compassion
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Trauma
Other Issues
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Anxiety
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Autoimmune illness
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Chronic Pain
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Codependency
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Coping Skills
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Grief
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Life Transitions
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Premarital (SYMBIS only)
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Racial Identity
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Relationship Issues
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Spirituality and/or Faith
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Stress
Why Tend & Refine?
I remember receiving my first plant almost five years ago and was beyond excited to care for it. I knew that plants needed water, so I gave it some. Day after day, the leaves became droopy and began to yellow. A great fear rushed over me, so I gave it some more water. Little did I know that too much water is the leading cause of plant death.
Tending to houseplants requires careful attention, an attunement, if you will, to the nature and given state of the plant. In many ways, you and I are complex plants with unique needs: we each require different levels of sunlight, amounts of water, and grow at different rates. Not to mention the vast array of shapes, patterns, colors, and sizes.
One of the most important aspects of plant care I have learned is that pruning is essential and that plants are resilient. In order for lavish leaves and branches, I must cut back what is. The process of refinement is not painless nor easy. However, it yields greater and deeper growth, a potential that was always within the plant itself.
What works for one plant doesn't always work for another, but that doesn't mean one plant is any less of a plant than the other. My hope is that you can tend to yourself with a gentle curiosity and with tenderness so that you can grow lusciously and thrive abundantly.
When I'm not working...
You can find me tending to my endless houseplants and playing with my kitties Roku and Bumi. Being outside in nature whether that is a walk to the park or hiking around the Cascades is where I feel most at home.