Meet Joanna: On Healing, Whole People, and Why Therapy Found Her
By Joanna Bugden, Supervised Graduate Therapist, NWMHA
I didn’t take a traditional path into counseling. Before starting my training, I spent years working in the music industry — managing music labels, coordinating tours and live events, creating music myself, and working with artists across the USA and Europe. It was fast-paced, creative work that I really enjoyed, but what stayed with me most was something else—how much people carry beneath the surface, and how rarely they have a space to talk about it or feel understood.
Over time, I realized I wanted to make a different kind of impact in people’s lives. I had often found myself emotionally supporting the artists I worked with and the people around me, and alongside my own lived experiences, I felt increasingly drawn toward counseling. I eventually returned to school — first at Washington State University for Clinical Psychology, and now at the University of Western States for Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Through my studies, I found myself drawn to questions I had been asking for a long time: how trauma affects people differently, how the body and brain are involved in that process, and what it actually means to process and move through those experiences, rather than just get by.
What I bring to this work
I grew up surrounded by people in healthcare, with family members practicing everything from Western medicine to integrative and holistic care, including acupuncture. That early exposure shaped how I think about healing and the connection between the mind and body—as something that needs to address the whole person, not just a diagnosis or set of symptoms.
I’m particularly drawn to clients navigating trauma alongside a medical condition, chronic illness, or past medical experiences—including different types of neurological conditions—as well as those experiencing the chronic stress of high-demand professions such as first responders, healthcare workers, and veterans. While these are areas of particular interest, I also work with a wide range of trauma and mental health concerns. I also value a multicultural perspective on health and healing and aim to approach this work with cultural awareness and respect for each client’s unique background.
My approach
I take an integrative, humanistic approach to counseling, drawing from person-centered, trauma-informed, and somatic perspectives, including utilizing EMDR in my work. I don’t believe there’s a one-size-fits-all approach to therapy. My goal is to create a space where clients feel seen and supported as whole people—not just as a diagnosis or presenting problem, but as individuals—and where we can work together to find what is most helpful for them.
A little more about me
Outside of the office, I’m a devoted amateur baker and self-proclaimed foodie, with my own micro-bakery that has been catering events and feeding friends with my sweet creations. I love to travel and have spent many years living in Europe, and I really enjoy discovering new cultures and learning about them.
I also find great joy in spending time in nature with my husband and connecting to music and the arts. I strongly value staying connected to my community through giving back—I have volunteered with PAWS as a pet foster, and regularly donate baked goods to our local homeless shelters, and the “Seattle Community Fridge” programs.
A quote that I hold close and try to live by is from Hippocrates:
“Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.”