Student Affairs

About us

The Counseling Center

The Counseling Center is the designated department at University of Washington Bothell to provide mental health services to UW Bothell students and we also support students at Cascadia College. The role of the Counseling Center is to provide mental health related services to facilitate students’ adjustment to college and their personal and psychological growth in becoming well functioning and socially responsible adults. The Counseling Center promotes student learning about their emotional and psychological development and increase academic success by positively impacting academic and personal decision-making. Our staff work to help students resolve problems that interfere with personal, social, and academic functioning while also emphasizing prevention, development, adjustment, and wellness.

The Counseling Center provides numerous services to meet the previously stated goals and objectives:

  • Clinical Services: Same day crisis appointments, intakes, individual counseling, group therapy, neurodiversity consultations, psychiatric consultations, and case management.
  • Outreach and Community Intervention: Workshops and skill building classes to increase students’ knowledge, skills, and self-awareness to enhance their ability to effectively cope with problems in every-day-living. Submit and outreach request here.
  • Consultation Services: Individual consultations for parents, faculty, and staff who are concerned about a student. Additionally, the Counseling Center staff serves on numerous University committees, working groups, and task forces to provide their expertise as mental health professionals.
  • Program Evaluation: Gather data regarding student service utilization, satisfaction with services, and learning outcomes to assess the effectiveness of counseling services and provide the data we need to make ongoing improvement to our services.

Clinical Staff

UW Bothell counselors are licensed mental health professionals or clinicians-in-training who are supervised by a licensed clinicians. They provide a broad range of treatment approaches depending on the unique needs of each person. Approaches your counselor may use include cognitive-behavioral, solution-focused, interpersonal, emotionally-focused, and other treatment that the counselor and you feel will best meet your needs. Within these approaches, counselors practice cultural humility and strive to provide counseling from the student’s cultural identity to support our wonderfully diverse community.

Jessica Mason, PhD

Director

Jessica Mason (she/her/hers) is a Licensed Psychologist in Washington state (#PY 60618318). “I received my doctorate degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Tennessee Knoxville and my master’s degree in clinical psychology from Georgia Southern University. I am originally from Arizona, but have lived in many places across the U.S. I have spent my career working in university counseling centers and enjoy working alongside students to navigate the challenges they face. I work from a client-centered approach and work to understand what each student is going through so I can help them work through their goals in counseling. I have experience working with students from diverse backgrounds and a variety of mental health problems. I enjoy working with students struggling with depression, anxiety, relationship problems, and trauma. I am also big on advocating for students, helping them navigate the university system, and helping them learn how to be self-advocates. In my spare time, I enjoy camping, spending time with family and friends, traveling, and playing with my labradoodle.

Lillian Chen, PsyD

interim Director, Associate Director, and Training Coordinator

Lillian Chen (she/her/hers) is a Licensed Psychologist in Washington state (#PY 60522189). “I received my doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from University of Denver. Prior to attending graduate school in the US, I was born in Taiwan and grew up in Canada. My experience living in different countries enables me to see things from diverse lenses. I want to understand your story and the nuance of your emotional experience, help you acquire a deeper understanding of who you are, where you come from, and how you arrive at this point in life. I enjoy working with stress, anxiety, depression, identity exploration, and life transition common among college students. My clinical specialties include relationship problems, grief and loss, self-confidence, perfectionism, multicultural counseling, and acculturation stress. Due to my bicultural background, I provide bilingual counseling (English and Mandarin) and have expertise in working with Asian and international students. I’d love to work in partnership with you in finding the path that will lead to your emotional well-being and academic success. During spare time, I enjoy traveling, dancing, solving mystery and…. did I say I am a big Harry Potter fan?”

Ann Ellis, MS

Outreach Coordinator

Ann Ellis (she/her/hers) is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Washington state (LH 60972706). “I am originally from Seattle; but I received my Master of Science Degree in Community Counseling from Columbus State University and lived in Georgia for 11 years. College counseling is my specialty area and I have experience working with a wide range of topics including stress, anxiety, depression, self-esteem, relationships, LGBTQ+ issues, and military/veteran concerns. I love talking to people to understand where they’ve been, where they are, and where they hope to go. My approach to counseling is person centered and collaborative and I hope to support and empower you on your way to reaching your personal and academic goals. In my free time I love to travel, cook, spend time with family/friends, and pretty much anything to do with animal … especially cats and dogs!”

Teresa Hoffman, PsyD

Group Therapy Coordinator and Neurodiversity Services Coordinator

Teresa Hoffman (she/her/hers) is a Licensed Psychologist in Washington state (PY 61304537). “I received my master and doctorate degrees in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University New England. Prior to attending graduate school, I was a software engineer and I received two STEM undergraduate degrees from UW Seattle. I became a psychologist because I enjoy listening to the stories people share about life and geek out about how those stories shape the way the world is experienced and transformed. I enjoy working with college students from diverse backgrounds who are dealing with stress, anxiety, identity exploration, and life transitions. My clinical experience includes trauma, group therapy, LGBTQIA+ issues, neurodivergence, and learning disabilities. I look forward to collaborating with you to find a compassionate path that will lead to your emotional and academic growth. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, yoga, cooking, and spending time with family.”

Elle Harris, PsyD

Post doctoral fellow

Elle Harris (she/her/hers) is a Postdoctoral Psychology Fellow in Washington state. “I received my doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Seattle. As a young girl, I realized that baking and sharing treats was my favorite way to bring people together and delight in our human capacity for connection. After exploring the career field of baking, I learned that connection without baked goods can be just as sweet and took steps to become a clinical psychologist. I feel passionate about working with young adults/college students because I believe that the choices made during this time set in motion long-term patterns of relationships and interactions with the world around us. I enjoy working with college students from diverse backgrounds who are dealing with relationship challenges, loss of confidence, stress, anxiety, identity exploration, life transitions, and complex trauma. I am here to support you through the transition of college, to help you orient your relationships toward healing and transformation, and to learn from and with you. In my spare time, you can find me hiking, reading Victorian era literature, and baking with the ‘Great British Baking Show’ on in the background. Also, I am proficient in Spanish- Ven y comparte tu historia conmigo!”

Kosuke “Ko” Niitsu, PMHNP

Psychiatric Nurse

Kosuke “Ko” Niitsu (he/him/his) is a Licensed Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) in Washington state (#AP 60989975). “After I graduated from a high school in Japan where I grew up, I went to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and received my bachelor’s degree in Biology. Then, I went to the University of Nebraska Medical Center and received my bachelor’s degree in Nursing, master’s degree in PMHNP, and Ph.D. in Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing. After that, I went to the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus as a postdoctoral fellow. At the same time, I served as a PMHNP at a student mental health clinic to support professional learners, such as medical residents and nursing students. I currently work as an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing & Health Studies at UW Bothell. My clinical and research interest/focus includes stress/trauma/resilience, and I apply a client-centered approach with a holistic view of health. I prescribe psychotropic medications based on the most up-to-date evidence for college students as referred by the Counseling Center at UW Bothell. I enjoy outdoor activities that the beautiful Washington State offers, such as fishing, biking, hiking, mushroom hunting, and more.”

Cindy Gonzalez, MSW

Case Manager

Cindy Gonzalez (she/her/hers) is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Washington state (LW 60933748). “I received my masters of social work degree from the University of Washington Seattle campus. I have experience working in the emergency department at local hospitals doing assessments and providing resources. I also have experience as a psychotherapist working with diverse populations in the community. I use a strength-based approach that includes frameworks from CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), solution focused, mindfulness and motivational interviewing to help people through their concerns. I am here to support you and help you navigate resources and find the best care for your mental health needs. 

I was born in Guatemala and raised in Los Angeles, Spanish is my primary language. I enjoy traveling, watching my son play soccer in his select team and baseball during the spring. I share my home with my 7 year old Rottweiler and husband. Thank you for the opportunity to support you.”

Amy Paulson, MSW

Mental Health Counselor

Amy Paulson (she/her/hers) is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor Associate in Washington State (#MC61498416). “I received my Master of Social Work from the University of Washington Seattle. I call Seattle home, but I grew up overseas in Sweden which informs much of how I see the world. I am thrilled to be working with college students on a university campus. College is such a transformative time for individuals and can be both exciting and challenging. My approach to this work is strengths based, student-centered and multi-cultural. I take into account that the way we feel, think, and act are impacted by our individual backgrounds, social identities and the larger structures and systems in which we live. My hope is that our work together will cultivate resilience, wellness and encouragement to feel empowered to make the changes necessary to live the life you want to live.  I have particular interests in working with students experiencing identity exploration, transitions, acculturation stress, first gen journey, and LGBTQIA+ themes. In addition to individual counseling, I love outreach opportunities and facilitating groups. When not at UW Bothell you can find me exploring the world, reading, spending time with family and friends and cheering on college basketball. Come by and ask me to translate the name of any item at IKEA…”

Jackie Kim

Program Coordinator

UW Bothell Counseling Center serves Cascadia College students and UW Bothell students in their search of mental health resources. Our Program Coordinator, Jackie Kim (she/her/hers) supports the front desk for Student Affairs and the Counseling Center. If this is your first time seeking the UWB Counseling Center or have questions about our services, you can reach her via phone at 425-352-3183, email at uwbcc@uw.edu, or in-person at UW1-080.

“My background is in customer service and administrative healthcare. I am also trained in Mental Health First Aid and de-escalation techniques. In my spare time, I like to read, learn about gardening, and give cuddles to my chihuahua mixed dog.”