I offer professional, faith-based counseling for teens, adult individuals, and couples. Whether you are dealing with anxiety, depression, relationship issues, chemical dependency, sexual addiction, or other concerns, I would be privileged to walk alongside you toward a place of recovery and restoration. Using a combination of biblical principles, proven therapeutic techniques, and reliance on the Lord, it is possible to break free from the burdens you are carrying so you can find peace, joy, and hope again. You don’t have to struggle alone; help is available. Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.
My Goal as a Christian Counselor
As your counselor, my main goal is to draw out your strengths and build on your weaknesses. I imagine my role as a driver’s education instructor who allows the client to drive, pumps the brakes when necessary, and keeps the client out of the ditches. As we work together, my hope is that you will gain the necessary tools and skills to navigate the roads of life successfully and with God’s help.
What I Offer in Christian Counseling
I offer a safe space where you can feel comfortable sharing what is on your mind and heart without being judged. I like to explore issues from the client’s perspective. I love that we are unique in our Father’s eyes, and problems hit each person differently. You can feel free to open up so we can work through the challenges you are facing and find lasting solutions, with God’s help and without judgment.
My Approach to Christian Counseling
There is a significant overlap between Christianity and healing from counseling. Numerous secular and religious studies have exalted universal values, like forgiveness, originating in Christianity. Christianity helps individuals to be more like Christ. Counseling helps individuals to develop a more authentic self. By working from a Christian perspective, clients can experience deeper, more meaningful, and more long-lasting change in their lives through the power of the Holy Spirit. I tend to incorporate Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and the Gottman method with biblical principles found within God’s Word.
Qualifications & Experience
I hold a B.A. in History from Freed-Hardeman University, a J.D. in Law from the University of Toledo, and an M.A. in Professional Counseling from Liberty University. I am a licensed counselor in Washington and Idaho and a Washington state-approved supervisor for LMHCs. I have also completed Level 2 of Gottman training for couples counseling and Cognitive Process Therapy training for trauma and PTSD. I have experience working with troubled adolescents, children with psychiatric issues, individuals with severe and persistent mental illnesses, couples facing marital issues, military service members dealing with stress and adjustment, and much more.
My Call to Christian Counseling
I thought that I was going to become an attorney, but God had other plans. After failing the Ohio bar exam, I needed a job to pay my substantial student loans. I started to work with children dealing with trauma, substance use, mental health, and other adverse childhood experiences. A year after I got married, my wife encouraged me to expand my education to become a counselor.
More About Me/On a Personal Note
I love to travel with my wife to national parks and places to experience diverse cultures. I enjoy being outdoors and seeing animals in the wild. I have gone camping countless times. I have also begun to take up photography with an interest in wildlife and national scenery.
Areas of Expertise/Specialties
- Anger Management
- Anxiety
- Bipolar Disorder
- Chemical Dependency
- Counseling for Teens
- Couples Counseling
- Depression
- Grief and Loss
- Individual Counseling
- Infidelity and Affairs
- Marriage Counseling
- Men's Issues
- Online Counseling
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Premarital Counseling
- Relationship Issues
- Sex and Porn Addiction
- Trauma
Anxiety
With anxiety, individuals interpret their experiences as dangerous, which can lead to dysfunctional thinking, distressing feelings, avoiding people, places, and/or things, and physical symptoms. As your counselor, my job is to help you to challenge your thinking, restructure your thinking in a more adaptive fashion, discover the usefulness of having some anxiety, and sometimes expose you to tiny amounts of anxiety at a time to help you overcome your fears and stressors.
Depression
Individuals with depression tend to have negative thoughts about themselves, others, and the future leading to feelings of unlovability, worthlessness, helplessness, hopelessness, and/or inadequacy. My job is to help you discover the underlying thoughts causing your feelings, evaluate your thinking more accurately, and learn how to live with tolerable levels of sadness without sinking into deep depression.
Couples Counseling
Applying the Gottman Sound Relationship theory, I will help you get to know your partner better, assist you with building fondness and admiration for each other, explore ways to focus only on each other, educate you on the importance of building your relationship love bank, manage conflicts between one another, explore individual and couple dreams, and develop routines and rituals to deep your relationship.
Infidelity and Affairs
Infidelity does not happen in a vacuum. Infidelity is often more complicated than it seems. Working together as a couple can help each partner to discover why the infidelity occurred and how to prevent it from occurring again. The hurt partner can heal from PTSD-like symptoms. The offending partner can learn to atone, attune, and re-attach to his or her partner.
Chemical Dependency / Sexual Addiction
From an individual counseling perspective, it is important to (1) identify perilous situations, both external (e.g., people, places, and things) and internal (e.g., problematic mood states); (2) address dysfunctional thinking about drugs, one’s ability to “handle” substance and/or process of choice (sexual/porn addiction); (3) reduce automatic negative thoughts that facilitate arousal and/or intent to use; (4) gradually lessen physiological carvings and urges; (5) benignly confront “permission-giving beliefs” that justify one’s use; and (6) plan potential external and internal circumstances that might trigger a lapse or relapse.
If the individual is already undergoing individual treatment for substance and/or sexual addictions, it is important to talk about the ways in which the addiction interfered with the addicted individual, non-addicted individual, and the relationship itself without blame. By talking about the impact, the couple can rebuild their relationship and attend to each partner’s individual needs.
Sessions: I offer 53-minute sessions. Sessions can be held more than once per week, weekly, or every other week. Scheduling options are discussed in greater detail during your Risk-Free Initial Session.
Availability (by office location):
- Spokane Valley - Thursday, Friday, Saturday
- Spokane - Tuesday, Wednesday
- Online (WA Only) - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday & Saturday
Fees: I offer a Risk-Free Initial Session for individuals and couples looking to pursue counseling with me. Please note that there is a fee for the Risk-Free Initial Session as it is a clinical hour and reimbursable to most insurance companies, but if you choose not to reschedule and continue therapy after the initial session the entire fee for the session will be waived. For ongoing treatment the full fee per session is required at the time of service.
Insurance: As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC), most insurance companies will reimburse for a portion of my services (as an Out of Network Provider). Please consult with your insurance provider as to whether they specifically cover adolescents, individuals and couples.
Receipts/Statements: In the event you require a printed or digital receipt, I will provide receipts for personal use, insurance reimbursement, Flex Spending Accounts (FSA), and Health Savings Accounts (HSA).
Payment options: Cash, Check, or Credit Card (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, & American Express). A fee of up to 4% per transaction may be added for credit card payments.
Focus Areas
Testimonials
John Lakvold is a very caring and compassionate person. I would highly recommend him to my family, relatives, and friends for counseling.
John is a great counselor. He is easy to communicate with and will listen and advise with compassion. He cares about people and it shows. The facility is easy to find and the environment is relaxing. I highly recommend seeing John.
Access to quality mental health has never been more important than today. John is an excellent counselor and therapist. He listens carefully. He responds gently, compassionately, and intelligently. He is a man of high moral character and takes great responsibility in the care he provides. I highly recommend him.
I offer this review for the practice of Seattle Christian Counseling. I have found John to be focused and sensitive to the mental health needs of this community. He is very knowledgeable and easy to understand while discussing complex issues of mental illness and depression.
I have known John Lakvold of Seattle Christian Counseling for almost a year. He and I share thoughts on the mental health needs of our community, as I have volunteered my service at several outreach Recovery programs through Dalton Gardens Church of Christ. He is always willing to offer helpful suggestions based on his years of experience. I can highly recommend him and the services he provides.
