About James Gallegos, LMFT

Helping Couples and Individuals Build Stronger Connections

Seeking therapy takes courage. Whether you’re struggling in your relationship, feeling emotionally stuck, or trying to make sense of painful patterns in your life, reaching out for support is rarely easy.

I believe therapy works best when people feel genuinely understood—not judged, analyzed, or talked down to.

That belief is one of the reasons I became a therapist.

Before entering the counseling field, I spent many years working in the business and technology world. In 2002, after experiencing the positive impact of therapy in my own life, I made the decision to pursue a different path and eventually transitioned into counseling full time.

Having experienced therapy from both sides of the room—as both a client and a therapist—I understand how vulnerable it can feel to open up about relationship struggles, anxiety, shame, conflict, or disconnection. I also know how powerful meaningful change can be when people feel safe enough to honestly examine what’s happening beneath the surface.

Over the past two decades, I’ve worked with individuals and couples facing a wide range of challenges, including:

communication struggles
relationship conflict
affair recovery
compulsive sexual behaviors
anxiety and depression
and feelings of emotional disconnection within long-term relationships

My work is especially focused on helping couples rebuild trust, improve communication, and move out of the painful reactive cycles that often leave partners feeling lonely, unheard, or emotionally exhausted.

Sometimes the deeper work in a relationship isn’t saying more—it’s making it safer for your partner to say more.

My Approach To Therapy

My approach is warm, direct, collaborative, and grounded in practical change.

I strive to create an environment where clients feel comfortable being honest about what’s working, what isn’t, and what they genuinely want to change. Therapy should feel like a productive conversation—not a lecture or a place where you feel criticized or pathologized.

I draw from several evidence-based approaches depending on the needs of the individual or couple, including:

The Gottman Method
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Narrative Therapy
mindfulness-based interventions
and solution-focused techniques.

While insight is important, I also believe therapy should provide concrete tools and strategies that clients can apply in everyday life. My goal is not simply to help people “talk about problems,” but to help them create healthier patterns, stronger communication, and more meaningful connection moving forward.

I work with both straight and LGBTQ+ couples and provide therapy in a supportive, nonjudgmental environment that balances compassion, accountability, humor, and practical feedback.For added flexibility and convenience, I also offer video and telephone therapy sessions.

Education and Professional Background

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Washington State — License #49883
Licensed psychotherapist since 2013
M.A. in Counseling Psychology — John F. Kennedy University (2006)
B.S. in International Business — San Francisco State University (1988)

I have completed advanced training in the Gottman Method and continue to draw from multiple therapeutic modalities to support clients in creating lasting emotional and relational change.

Ready To Begin?

Whether you’re seeking support for your relationship, struggling with emotional disconnection, or trying to work through painful patterns in your life, therapy can help you move toward greater clarity, connection, and understanding.

I offer counseling services in Arlington and Mount Vernon, Washington, and I welcome the opportunity to speak with you about how therapy may help.

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