Stacey Schmitt, MSW, LICSW

Hello and welcome! My name is Stacey Schmitt, and I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (LICSW) with over twenty-five years of experience in the mental health profession. I received my master’s degree in social work from the University of Washington in 2004 and obtained my clinical licensure shortly thereafter. As a clinical social worker, I believe in the uniqueness of the individual and recognize how society and systems may impact wellbeing. My values are rooted in integrity, dignity and worth of the person and respect. I am formally trained as a Cognitive Behavior Therapist with a specialty in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT).

I began my career working with incarcerated youth at Echo Glen Children’s Center and later transitioned to Harborview Medical Center's Inpatient Psychiatry in 2004. I relocated to Fairbanks, Alaska in 2009 where I had the privilege of working with military families on Eielson Air Force Base. Since that time, I have worked at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Student Health and Counseling for the last eleven years, starting there as a counselor and then becoming the Associate Director of Counseling in 2019. I recently relocated back home to Seattle from Alaska and have been providing telehealth services for UAF Student Health and Counseling since then. I am excited to join the Counseling West Seattle team and to begin the next chapter of private practice, offering both in person and telehealth services.

I believe that authentic connection, mutual trust, and the therapeutic alliance is a fundamental part of therapy. I build upon inherent strengths and individual resilience to create an environment that fosters warmth, autonomy, and healing. I explore concerns with curiosity and believe in the courageous nature of the human spirit. I blend DBT with a person-centered approach to care, balancing a foundation of mindful awareness with self-acceptance and opportunity for change. My experience with DBT allows for specialized focus around mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation and interpersonal dynamics. I hope to be a meaningful support for goal achievement, to be an integral part in finding or transforming purpose, and to help create space for healing.