Connection is a skill. Let’s practice!

Hi, I’m Katya Stark

I provide individual and couples counseling with a focus on connection, emotional insight, and practical change.

I help couples and individuals transform the way they connect, communicate, and grow together.

Most of my clients come to me feeling stuck in old patterns—overthinking, shutting down, fighting, or staying quiet when something really matter

Having lived in different parts of the world, I’ve learned how to adapt across cultures and ways of relating. Those experiences shaped how I see connection – not as something you either have or don’t, but as a skill that can be learned, practiced, and strengthened.

How I Can Help?

Individual Counseling

Many people come to me feeling overwhelmed—by anxiety, self-doubt, overthinking, or people-pleasing. Individual counseling is a place to understand your emotions, explore past experiences, and practice new ways of relating to yourself and others.

Religious Trauma & Faith Transitions

If you grew up in a high-control or fear-based religious environment, you may still carry shame, anxiety, or guilt. Together, we untangle old messages so you can trust your own voice and build relationships that feel emotionally safe.

Relationship & Couples Counseling

I help couples move from reactivity and disconnection into understanding, dialogue, and repair. We work on communication, emotional safety, and rebuilding trust so your relationship can feel more connected and alive.

Marriage Counseling

Long-term partnerships sometimes fall into cycles of distance, tension, or miscommunication. Marriage counseling helps you reconnect, understand each other more deeply, and create more harmony and emotional closeness in your daily life.

Pre-Marriage Counseling

Whether you’re engaged or exploring long-term commitment, pre-marriage counseling helps you build a strong foundation. Together, we clarify expectations, communication patterns, values, and the skills needed to grow as a team.

LGBTQ+ Counseling

I provide an affirming space for LGBTQ+ clients seeking support with relationships, identity development, life transitions, or emotional stress. My approach is grounded, nonjudgmental, and centered on helping you feel more seen and supported.

My Approach to Therapy

Clients often tell me they feel both challenged and supported in my sessions. I’m known for being direct and honest while also warm and engaged. I help you see patterns clearly, try new responses, and move toward practical, lasting change—while bringing humor when it helps lighten the work.

What sets me apart is the way my professional training and my life experience come together. I’ve moved through cultural transitions, identity exploration, and major life changes myself, so I understand the complexity of growth and adaptation. Paired with my ongoing commitment to learning and self-development, I bring both expertise and a lived perspective that helps me connect with clients in a real and authentic way.

Life Experience & Education

BA in Public Relation - UK

Before becoming a counselor, I earned my bachelor’s degree in Public Relations in England and spent years working in the corporate sector. My career path shifted after moving to the U.S., when I decided to follow my deeper passion: helping people build stronger, healthier, more connected relationships.

M.S. Clinical Mental Health Counseling - Portland State University

I went on to earn my master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at Portland State University and have been committed ever since to combining rigorous professional training with the richness of lived experience.

Cultural transitions & identity exploration

Together, my education and life experiences give me a wide lens: I bring both the discipline of clinical training and the perspective of someone who has walked through adaptation, growth, and transformation firsthand.

Who I Work With

Couples navigating big transitions

Cross-cultural and intercultural couples

Partners healing from betrayal or broken trust

Couples wanting stronger communication and connection

Individuals feeling stuck in patterns of anxiety or shutdown

Adults healing from religious trauma or high-control environments

Professional Training

I combine structured, evidence-based approaches with experiential methods that help people feel—not just think—their way into new patterns of connection. My training includes Imago Relationship Therapy, Gestalt-based work, somatic and imagery-focused approaches, and the Developmental Model of Couples Therapy.

Currently in the process of certification. Imago uses a psychodynamic lens, exploring how our earliest relationships with parents and other significant attachments shape the ways we show up in our intimate relationships today. Through structured dialogue, it helps couples move beyond reactivity into empathy and connection.

I have been training in Gestalt Therapy for over three years through the Seattle Ongoing Training Program, where I worked in experiential groups and received live supervision. In 2024, I attended a two-week international intensive in Bulgaria, and in 2025 I’m continuing with an advanced workshop series. Gestalt emphasizes presence, awareness, and authentic dialogue, which means I pay attention to what’s happening between partners in the here-and-now, not just in the past.

Completed a year-long somatic therapy training in Portland, Oregon. This work deepened my understanding of how emotions live in the body and how physical awareness can open new pathways for release, regulation, and intimacy.

Completed a year-long training in this model, which helps couples understand the developmental stage they are in, take responsibility for their own part in conflict, and learn how to grow into greater respect and closeness.

If you’re looking for a therapist who will sit back quietly, I’m probably not the right fit. But if you want someone who will engage with you fully, help you see patterns clearly, and guide you toward practical and lasting change, I may be exactly the right person for you.

Katya Stark

Schedule Your Relationship Consultation

If what you’ve read resonates, I invite you to schedule a free consultation so we can explore whether working together is the right fit.