Joseph L. Price, PhD

Sequim, Washington

Call 360.683.4818

Special Areas of Practice

Dr. Price's areas of practice include the following (click on a topic below to view a detailed description). See more information about AAMFT Approved Clinical Supervision and contact Dr. Price for an appointment today.

  • Depression
  • Two of every three adults experience emotional depression at some time in life. Depression can include feelings of pervasive sadness, hopelessness, loss of enjoyment, difficulty sleeping, alcohol or drug misuse, lack of motivation and energy, and negative thinking. When untreated, depression can last for months or even years. Dr. Price will treat your depression and assist you to understanding underlying causes. He can help you find long term relief and resolution.

  • Anxiety
  • Everyone experiences feelings of stress from time to time. When feelings of tension, restlessness, irritability, panic, out-of -control, compulsivity, fearfulness, worry, or difficulty sleeping are part of your everyday struggle, psychotherapy can be an integrated approach to healing. Dr. Price uses a supportive, insight oriented, and behavioral approach to help you find comfort and accurately interpret physiological symptoms. He can help you find long term relief and resolution.

  • Trauma
  • Trauma is frequently denied, misunderstood, ignored, or avoided. Automobile accidents (even minor fender benders), routine invasive medical procedures, loss of loved ones, natural disasters, war, severe childhood or adult emotional or physical and sexual abuse, neglect or abandonment, rape, witnessing violence, or catastrophic injuries or illnesses can all be causes of trauma. Not only can Dr. Price help you with your trauma, but you will find the healing process to be a profound awakening to emotional and spiritual transformation.

  • Marital Conflict
  • Money matters; disagreements over children including how many to have and how to discipline them; and controlling, demanding, nagging, jealous behavior can be common sources of quarreling between husband and wife. While conflict can be good, all too often it involves rigid, unrealistically demanding behavior as well as a diminished ability to understand, followed by anger and hostility. Let Dr. Price help you and your partner find ways to make minor allowances, fine-tuned adjustments, and compromises that make life smoother; appreciate the sincerity of each other’s feelings; start changing in ways that bring you closer together.

  • Loss and Grief
  • Dealing with the loss of a friend or loved one can be painfully difficult. Coping and grieving are things we learn, we are taught, and we develop from the time we are children, but death is one of life’s greatest challenges. We will all mourn. Some do it well and find restoration; others mourn poorly and compound their losses. Bereavement, the loss by death of someone loved, is the most severe psychological trauma most people will encounter in the course of their lives. Shakespeare said, “Everyone can cure a grief but he who has it.” Dr. Price can help you find inner healing and wholeness in your deepest sadness.

  • Substance Abuse
  • Alcohol and drug dependence are tragic and frequently misunderstood problems. What may begin as casual social use or activity soon becomes compulsive and habitual. Activities are planned around substance using behaviors or planning for use. Substance abusers become so preoccupied with the desire to drink or take drugs that it is hard for them to focus on anything else. They attempt to control their behavior with rules; limiting use; or abstaining without help. Psychotherapy allows substance abusers and their significant others to reassess their lives and see what really needs to change. If you are living with your own substance abuse problem or with a substance abusing loved one, psychotherapy will create a safe space to find your authentic self, heal wounds, and find wholeness and comfort. Let Dr. Price help you.

  • Sexuality
  • Many men and women experience conflicts about sexuality. Some of these conflicts are based on behavioral issues—what to do and when—while others stem from differing values and attitudes about sexuality in general. Sexuality and intimacy are to the soul what food is to the body. Each one of us is nurtured and enriched through the experience of deep human connection. With openness and sensitivity, Dr. Price helps his patients resolve sexual concerns and issues ranging from birth control, abortion, and sexual dysfunction to sexual preference. He maintains an open heart in the face of powerful emotions assisting his patients to find deep connection with themselves and others.

  • Life Transitions
  • Facing the emotional challenges of crises, life changes, and risk can be daunting. Transitions are expected as we move through the journey of life and they catapult us into new stages of growth and change. They are turning points that can involve school, career, children, health, marriage, divorce, birth, death, alteration of roles, and so much more. Based upon a deep and honest interest, genuine support, and an authentic personal presence, Dr. Price helps his patients develop a mature sense of self-appreciation, personal timing, and the life skills necessary for moving forward on their own terms to find peace and contentment.

  • Relationship Difficulties
  • Our lives are spent in social interaction with other individuals, yet many people have great difficulty relating to others. Problems may result from self-image issues, inadequate social skills, fear of self-expression, defensiveness, lack of communication skills, impatience, anger, avoidance, distrust, hurt feelings, and many other things. Psychotherapy allows us to experience these restrictive patterns and create new and exciting ways to relate to ourselves, others, and our work. Dr. Price helps his patients discover how relationships mirror themselves; clarify what they want and how to achieve it; examine how they self-sabotage; and appreciate their ability to create empowered relationships.

  • Self Esteem
  • Self-esteem means self-worth, the value that we each assign to ourselves at any given time. The amount of self-esteem we have is a key factor between us and inside us. People with low self-esteem maintain doubt about their value, even when they experience success. People with high self-esteem can directly share their feelings when they are feeling low and do not have to hide such feelings. They know the feelings are temporary and will dissipate when the environmental situation improves. Even as adults, self-esteem can be influenced by the comments of employers and co-workers, life partners, and friends. Dr. Price helps his patients to assume complete charge of themselves: to make choices, own them, and take responsibility for outcomes, and to enjoy the power of feeling worthy, even in the face of mistakes. He helps his patients to become aware of what they are feeling and thinking at any given moment, to deal with situations as they are, and to find true self.

  • Spirituality
  • As humans, spirituality is at our core; its animating life principle, its life-breath, its soul. Spirituality is a word which alerts us to look for the deepest dimension of human experience. Our core values are part of our spirit and they connect us to others. Love, compassion, forgiveness, and understanding are all examples of our great desire for meaningful connection. Spirituality spreads through all of life. It can be uncovered in what is said and not said, in the way we move and hold ourselves, in the way we enter into intimate or distant relationships, in the way we use time or spend money, or in the way we experience nature. When we find ourselves suffering from loss, conflict, or illness, we may lose our ability to experience the fullness of life and to express our gratitude for it. Psychotherapy with Dr. Price may include exploring and deepening spirituality with great respect for various backgrounds, religious traditions, values, and beliefs to find life’s gifts even in the harshest of circumstances.

  • Clinical Supervision
  • Dr. Price has more than 48 years of experience treating patients, teaching, consulting, and training and supervising therapy. He is an AAMFT Approved Supervisor. If you seek supervision for AAMFT Clinical Membership or the MFT or MHC licensure, or if you seek supervision for the AAMFT Approved Supervisor Designation, do not hesitate to call on him for assistance.