About Me

About Sue Bates, M.Ed., LMHC

I help individuals and couples understand the relationship patterns that keep them stuck so they can communicate better, trust themselves, and create healthier relationships.

I’m not a “lay on the couch” kind of therapist. I’m practical, direct, and involved. I listen, but I also give you information, feedback, tools, and homework so you can take what we talk about in therapy and actually use it everyday.

I’ve been a therapist for 45 years. And I have more than 30,000 client hours (not a typo). I’ve learned that people can make significant changes when they understand their patterns and are ready to do something differently.

My Specialities

Availability: I provide in-person therapy in Seattle and telehealth throughout Washington.

My Approach + Therapy Style

My approach is active, practical, and relationship-focused.

Together, we look at the patterns underneath what is happening rather than staying stuck in the same argument, dating experience, or relationship problem. I help you understand where those patterns came from, how they are affecting you now, and what you can begin doing differently.

Depending on what you need, I draw from CBT, attachment therapy, Family Systems, IMAGO, Gottman-informed work, DBT, and the relationship work of Esther Perel.

Clients tell me I keep it real. I’m quick and to the point, but I also care deeply about the people I work with. Therapy can be serious without being heavy all the time. We’ll work hard, and we’ll probably laugh too.

My Background

I knew from a young age that I wanted to help women build the lives and relationships they wanted.

That became personal for me after my mother died when I was 17. I still needed guidance, encouragement, and someone to help me understand life and relationships. Over time, I found therapists and wise women who helped me learn how to have a voice, trust myself, choose healthier relationships, and create a life I loved.

Those experiences shaped the therapist I became. I think of my role as part therapist, part mentor, and sometimes part auntie: someone who is in your corner, tells you the truth, and helps you keep moving forward.

Outside of therapy, I love dinner with friends, traveling, shopping, learning new things, and spending more time than I probably should at…Nordstrom Cafe. I also have a 12-year-old Corgi named Jeri Lee who is stubborn and possibly smarter than I am.

  • 45 years of experience as a therapist

  • More than 40,000 client hours

  • Couples therapy

  • Dating and relationship therapy

  • Narcissistic relationship recovery

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

  • Attachment Therapy

  • Family Systems

  • IMAGO

  • Gottman-informed therapy

  • DBT

  • Esther Perel relationship theory

Education, Credentials, & Trainings

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