Nichelle Alderson (She/Her), FNTP, LICSW
Holistic Health & Wellness Counselor
My name is Nichelle Alderson. I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, surrounded by nature, arts, & culture. I am passionate about holistic health, social justice, and education and have often been described
as a visionary, a conduit, and a natural healer (and health nut).
I have lived all of my years as an AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN in many roles, as a: daughter, sister, friend, girlfriend, wife and ex-wife, and for most of the past 20 years, as single MOTHER, which brings it’s own set of additional roles: nurse, teacher, disciplinarian, advocate, role-model, etc. I am all of these identities combined while in my roles as a entrepreneur, healer, clinician, artist, student, American, etc. (all of that to say, I understand being a complex being).
In my spare time, I enjoy organic vegetable gardening, live music, dancing, yoga, being in nature, writing, and playing with animals (I am a bit of an animal whisperer). I love God and spending alone time in prayer and meditation.❣️
My Philosophy & Approach
I offer a client centered and holistic therapeutic approach that aims to bring to light the associations between diet, stress, family history, support systems & resources, life experiences, environment, and issues related to current and/or historical oppression, and
how YOUR body, mind, and spirit have been responding.
I believe in encouraging and empowering my clients towards achieving the results they seek. I help clients identify and utilize their strengths and to identify and release unhealthy practices or defense mechanisms that may have been developed in the past as protection,
but are no longer needed- nor serving you well.
Are you fatigued? Over eating?
Are you moody or angry all the time?
Sick & tired of being sick and tired?
I’m here to help!
I know that searching for a therapist or healer can be a daunting task. Often people of color and members of oppressed or minority groups feel limited by the treatment options available to them. I will not turn a blind eye to your experiences as a woman, man, person of color;
transgendered; queer or homosexual; physically, mentally, or sexually abused; fatherless; veteran; ex-offender; victim and/or perpetrator of domestic violence, or children of offenders, addicts, divorced or mentally ill parents.
Here your questions about “Who am I?” and “Where do I belong in a society that does not reflect me?” are met with compassionate discussions aimed at creating a safe place to heal from the wounds and compounded events of being the “other”. My practice seeks to acknowledge your actual experiences as an individual.
All are welcome and equally cared for, however
I specialize in the needs and services of People of Color, Helping Professionals, Artists, and Entrepreneurs.
Licenses & Certifications:
✓Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker (WA ST: LW60237229)
✓Certified Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, Nutritional Therapy Association
✓Certified Essential Oil Coach, Essential Oil Institute
✓Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Impact Coaching Academy
✓Certified Professional Life Coach, Impact Coaching Academy
✓Certified Law of Attraction Advanced Practitioner, Global Sciences Foundation
I earned a masters degree in clinical Social Work from the University of Washington; a
bachelorette degree in Sociology; and a minor in Law, Society & Justice, also from the
University of Washington.
I have extensive training and experience in the areas of Black/African American studies
and culture, multicultural counseling, sexual minorities, non-traditional/blended families, exoffenders,
veterans and artists.
As a clinical social worker, I am trained in and have experience with a wide variety of therapeutic modalities including: Integrated Movement Therapy, Person-Centered Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Behavioral Therapy, Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, Mindfulness Therapy, and Trauma Informed Care. I utilize an eclectic blend of models and techniques of evidenced-based practices based on clients individual needs.
I am a Washington State Approved Counseling Supervisor and I enjoy teaching and supervising students and Associates of color in Human Services and Social Science Degree programs who have an interest in entering into private practice.
I have facilitated meetings, workshops, projects and events for over 20 years. As an artist and producer, I have produced, hosted, and performed many different types of artistic events for over 25 years. I am a lifelong student and enjoying learning and practicing many different forms of art.
My Background
I began my career in healthcare as a licensed Pharmacy Technician in 1996. After spending 5-years in the field, I realized that I fundamentally disagreed with the concept of "Big Pharma", the pharmaceutical industry posed as a health care essential. I could see that my customers were not getting better, rather, they were just hoping to not get sicker. Meanwhile, their pocketbooks were emptied as they'd scrounge up just enough money to pay for a few days worth of medications. This sickened me enough to switch directions, and go into medical billing for Children's Hospital. In this role, I got the inside scoop on how much doctors and patients health were dictated by what the insurance company would pay for, or not. As I wrote off hundreds of thousands of dollars of charges that the insurances would not cover, I was beginning to understand the game: follow the cheese (money), and the rat will appear.
It wasn't until I went back to school, to study Sociology; Law, Society & Justice; and Diversity that I better understood the impacts that the conventional healthcare system has had on communities of color. My thirst for understanding and desire to become a catalyst for change led me to pursue a Masters degree in Clinical Social Work. I practiced in the jails and court system as a Forensic Social Worker for many years and became even more aware of the disparities within the system that drastically effect marginalized people. I'd see people prescribed medications against their will and people who's desired medications were denied for lack of ability to pay. I'd see the overworked physicians, nurses, and other social workers pushed to work on auto-pilot, whereby treating individuals with cookie cutter methods.
When I started my psychotherapy private practice in 2012, I set out to learn more about the inner complexities that many of my clients of color were facing. Much of what I learned through their narration, encouraged me to return to the study of my first love, nutrition and natural health. I could clearly see how diet and lifestyle were contributing to their symptoms, in addition to the excessive stressors of being surrounded by toxic chemicals at work, home, in our food, and the toxic stressful lifestyles.
Combining my knowledge and understandings of bio-psycho-social-spirit- individuality with my skill sets as a psychotherapist, nutritional therapist, and essential oil coach allows me to utilize a variety of natural tools and techniques to help my clients: talk therapy; health & wellness coaching; specific nutritional and essential oil recommendations that match my clients unique needs. I can now support my clients towards optimal health and wellbeing in ways that incorporate the best treatment tools that Mother Nature has to offer: compassion, understanding, plants, and food.
I am passionate about my role as a holistic healer because people are dying in groves as a result of the current "traditional" healthcare approach of medicine; diet and lifestyle; and excess stress... AND people are craving REAL solutions. Collectively, people in this age of consciousness are seeking truth: organic and unprocessed. We no longer want the fake foods, lifestyles, and conventional healthcare approach that keep us sicker than ever before. I look forward to educating on modern ways to return to the basic and foundational approaches to achieving a healthy quality of life.
Be iNfinitely Well,
Nichelle Alderson
Education & Experience
Memberships & Affiliations
