Nod Edmark, MA, LMHC-A
^That’s me, Nod! Yay!
Who I work with (age 16+):
I am endlessly fascinated with people and their different ways of making meaning in life.
Neurodivergence-, fat body-, and polyamory-affirming; vanilla and kink friendly; Ace/Aro, queer and trans celebrating… I am doing my best to approach life and my work from an anti-oppression and anti-racist intention. Consent matters to me, and I think sexual health is the birthright of all humans who are sexually inclined, and all persons have a right to abstain.
I am especially interested in supporting people who identify as “outsiders” in life and persons who are looking to deconstruct and work though the interpersonal and emotional challenges of having been socialized as male or female - is that you? ;)
I am aligned with the Hearing Voices Network approach to working with voices, visions, and other unusual sensory perceptions.
Greetings, fellow earthling!
I am Brynn Esterra “Nod” Edmark (they/them), owner of Throughlines Counseling, PLLC.
As a fat, queer, nonbinary, and neurodivergent counselor, I am centrally concerned with how welcoming/unwelcoming and/or hostile contexts shape our identities, contribute to our values, and impact our responses in life. I resist mental health narratives that see individuals as problems to be fixed.
I do not practice diagnosing. If a diagnosis is important to you, we can talk about it!
Trans and GNC Clients:
I prefer our work together to be about exploring possibilities of transition on an individual basis rather than simply to conform to unexamined gender or transition scripts, including those required to satisfy systems of gatekeeping. To safeguard that process from effects of gatekeeping, I do not provide letters for surgery. If you are seeking surgical letters, I have wonderful colleagues I am happy to refer you to for that purpose.
What I will do:
I will support you in discerning the most comfortable fit between your desires, expectations, and how you decide to procede. Toward that, my commitments are these: to allow you to set the agenda for your life; to honor your meaning-making and right to decide what is meaningful; and to approach without judgement and make space for your complexity and the evolution of your identities, however that looks for you.
No two transitions are identical or have the same trajectory, and I will never tell you there is a correct way to do gender.
Detransition Support:
If you are a “de-/re-transitioner” a “desister” or someone contemplating a change in your expression and in need of support, please reach out. I hope to support you in finding peace with your experience. Too much of the detransition discourse is either mired in erasure or rooted in trans-phobia, and online spaces leave nowhere safe to land. I’m here to help you navigate these challenges and renegotiate your life toward what you find meaningful.
My Theoretical Orientation:
For individual therapy, I specialize in Narrative Therapy and integrate other approaches as appropriate, including Mindfulness-Based, Emotionally-Focused, and Somatic approaches.
For couple’s and CNM relational work, I utilize an Emotionally-Focused approach, integrating Narrative elements. I draw on other approaches, as appropriate, including Non-Violent Communication.
For sex therapy, I practice Systemic Sex Therapy with couples, polycules, and individuals following the PLISSIT Model.
My Educational Background:
Undergraduate Degree:
I earned my Bachelor of the Arts from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, where I studied Sustainable Agriculture, General Living Systems Theory, Buddhist Philosophy, and Cognitive Science.
Counseling Degree:
I hold a Masters Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Antioch University Seattle, where I pursued additional coursework in couple’s counseling and completed a certificate in Sex Therapy.
Counseling Internship:
I completed a year-long internship with Stories of Hope in Monroe, WA under the supervision of Rosy De Prado, LMFT.
As an associate counselor I continue to receive supervision with Rosy.
