Taking care of yourself and your mental health can mean anything from maintaining an array of routine habits and coping tools to navigating a disarray of crises, unpredictable setbacks, and inevitable stumbles.
I give clients a safe place to be vulnerable and examine their relationships and patterns, to find and nurture their strengths, and to learn concrete skills for long-term mental health.
As a therapist, I would be honored to support you as you figure out your own path to a healthy, stable life.
Please contact me through Gemini Clinical to set up a free 15-minute consultation!
About Ellen
I’m an award-winning author, artist, speaker, and mental health advocate. [Watch my TED talk, “Finding balance in bipolar”.]
Diagnosed with Bipolar I shortly before I turned 30, I recount my four-year struggle to find stability in my bestselling graphic memoir, Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, & Me.
Along with my own story, it was important to me to include practical, personal and clinical tools and techniques, things my readers could use themselves. Its companion book, Rock Steady: Brilliant Advice From My Bipolar Life, is a handbook for maintaining mental health, with short- and long-term strategies to get and stay stable.
Marbles and Rock Steady are now being used by counselors, psychiatrists, researchers, patients, and readers all over the world.
Talking one-on-one with people about those books inspired me to start a practice as a mental health coach in 2019. I soon realized I wanted to help in a broader, deeper way as a therapist, took a deep breath and went back to school, and received my Master’s degree in Clinical Social Work at the esteemed School of Social Work at the University of Washington.
In addition to my books, you can see more of my comics and art on my portfolio website, including two permanent large-scale porcelain enamel murals for Sound Transit’s Capitol Hill light rail station in Seattle. I love exploring the outdoors in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and am a year-round open-water swimmer.
About My Therapy
The work I do is based on principles from relational and behavioral psychology, motivational interviewing, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), somatic and mind-body awareness, and creativity and neuroarts-supported practices.
I work with all adults, with a special emphasis on adults with bipolar, depression or other mood disorders, and artists, creatives, and college students. My style is warm, kind, and creative, and the work we do may be more conversational or more tools-oriented.
My therapy is also rooted in my book, Rock Steady, my handbook for mental health, which was featured in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
Certification
I earned my Master of Social Work degree from the University of Washington School of Social Work in 2026, and am currently a Licensed Social Work Associate Independent Clinician (LSWAIC). I did my internship as an outpatient counselor and outreach worker with Sound Behavioral Health, and have also worked on an inpatient psychiatric unit, crisis phone line, and as a mental health coach. I graduated from Wesleyan University with a BA in Psychology.
I am working toward full licensure under the supervision of clinical social worker Josh Cutler at Gemini Clinical Institute (www.geminiclinical.net).
Praise for Rock Steady, the Book
“Rock Steady is truly a must-read for anyone who struggles with a mental disorder or someone who finds comfort in daily structure. Forney addresses readers with the tone of a caring friend, and her approach will likely make her fans eager for more grounding advice.”
- Booklist
“Forney's second book [Rock Steady] is packed with strategies, tools, and tips for living with mental illness—all presented in the same relatable, comic form that made her first book [Marbles] so beloved.”
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) featured Rock Steady in “Best Graphic Medicine of 2018”, and Rock Steady and Marbles received a Media Partner Award from NAMI Washington (National Alliance on Mental Illness).
Insurance and Pricing
We are in-network with Lyra Health, Regence, Premera, Lifewise, Kaiser, and most Blue Cross Blue Shield plans. We accept HSA and all major credit cards. Deductible and co-pays will be charged to your card automatically after each visit. Superbills are provided upon request.
Private Pay:
One-hour session: $175
Intake session: $225
Get Started
Ready to start? Please contact me through Gemini Clinical to set up a free 15-minute consultation!
Visit www.geminiclinical.net to get in touch and schedule.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Rock Steady: Brilliant Advice From My Bipolar Life, by Ellen Forney
Contact
I’d love to hear from you! To set up a free 15-minute consultation, please reach me through Gemini Clinical: