About

Courtney Putnam (she/her) is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate (LMHCA) in the state of Washington and an Expressive Arts Therapist (ExAT). She is also a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT) and Reiki Master. 

She holds an M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and Expressive Arts Therapy from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Courtney’s Master’s Thesis is an exploration of how creative arts journals support the management of chronic pain and associated mental health issues: How Creative Arts Journaling Offers a Holistic and Humanizing Container for Chronic Pain Experiences: A Literature Review and Autoethnography

Courtney also holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing (poetry focus) from Antioch University Los Angeles where she focused on “poetry of the body.” She earned her B.A. in Multicultural American Literature and Writing from Fairhaven College at Western Washington University.

In addition to Courtney’s experience as a therapist in private practice, she has supported college students with stress management at Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon, WA, and provided mental health counseling to late teens and adults at a group psychotherapy practice in Bellingham, WA. She has counseled adults across the lifespan, including older adults, and has experience supporting transgender clients. Her approach is inclusive, strengths-based, empathetic, non-judgmental, culturally responsive, and creative. 

Before becoming a counselor, Courtney had decade-long careers as a massage therapist in private practice and as a college professor of English, Humanities, and College Strategies at Cascadia College. Courtney is also a writer, visual artist, and author of the oracle deck Body Cards: Insight from the Body, Wisdom of the Soul.

Specialized Training & Coursework