Roya Shalchi

I am Roya Shalchi, daughter of immigrants, lover of movement and quiet and wild places.

Growing up as a direct product of immigration, I was exposed to a variety of cultures and traumas early on. This early lived experience helps me create an environment of compassion and curiosity with my clients, especially those who may have differing identities than me.

I believe that, as a therapist, my own self work deeply impacts the relationship so I am committed to my own ongoing reflection and self work. This includes being open to feedback from those I work with and working with embodied mentors to help me see myself and the world more clearly.

I have lived in many places across the Western and Southern United States, including Northern California, Northern Nevada, South Louisiana, and most recently the Pacific Northwest. I now call Olympia, Washington home, while providing care to clients throughout Washington State via telehealth. I’ve provided mental health therapy to folks who lived in the Bellingham, Seattle, Tacoma, and the Olympic Peninsula areas.

With a background in environmental science research and training in yogic and Buddhist practices, I bring both an evidence-based and intuitive approach to my work. My practice exists at the intersection of Eastern and Western psychology, integrating scientific understanding with contemplative wisdom.

Please click the drop down menus in the sections below to learn more about the different approaches that inform my work.

Training:

MA in Mindfulness Based Transpersonal Counseling from Naropa University

Brainspotting Phase 1 & 2 (2025)
-Pursuing the expansion training in March 2026

Gestalt Training

Internal Family Systems (IFS) Training with Uri Talmor

Somatic Experiencing Beginning I (2020)

200 hour YTT Yogada Ashram Rishikesh, India (2019)

Pranic Healing Level 1 and Psychotherapy (2019-2020)

9 Years of Embodied Mindfulness Training

Engagement with Nonviolent Communication Principles

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Who I work with

  • Whether your trauma presents itself as chronic pain and tension in the body, digestive issues, always feeling “on edge” or easily overwhelmed, or full blown flashbacks - it is possible to move beyond those states of being.

    Trauma lives in our deep, reptilian brain. The part of the brain that doesn’t know language. That’s why maybe talk therapy hasn’t worked in the past.

    Working from the inside out, using somatic processing and brainspotting, we can work to release and move through stuck patterns.

    Learn more about brainspotting here.

  • Are you using most of your energy just to get through the day? Do you look “fine” on the outside, but inside your nervous system is buzzing with anxiety? Are you carrying the weight of expectations (your own or others’)?
    Do you look around and wonder HOW people do it every day?

    Being neurodivergent in a neurotypical world is hard.

    Working together, we can find ways to create systems that uplift your natural way of doing things - instead of trying to fit yourself in a neurotypical box.

    There IS hope to living a life of ease and presence as a neurodivergent person.

  • My parents immigrated here from Iran before I was born. The forced immigration left me without a sense of belonging but with plenty of confusion.

    The pressure to assimilate is real and so is the pressure to stay connected with your culture. We aren’t meant to navigate these pressures alone.

    What this work looks like:

    • exploring identity and belonging

    • learning to hold guilt and grief

    • learning the balance of living for ourselves while honoring our roots/family/culture

    • intergenerational healing/ exploring ancestral burdens

    • being poc in America

  • There is a lot going on in the world, CONSTANTLY.

    Unlike any other time in human history, we have 24 hr access to all the suffering across the world and wow does it take an incredible toll on our nervous systems.

    Let our therapy sessions be a soft place to land in a hard world. A place to vent, to cry, and to just be in the suck of it all.
    A place to laugh, feel, and find joy despite it all.

What informs my work:

Abstract artwork with flowing shapes in shades of orange, brown, and beige.

  • Mindfulness isn’t about coming to some destination of thoughtlessness. It’s about coming into deeper and deeper presence with this very moment, whatever that may bring.

    It’s noticing the sun on your face, the tension in your throat, the sensation or lack thereof in your heart, noticing the softness of the fuzzy blanket, etc.

    Mindfulness is bringing a nonjudgmental and compassionate curiosity to all that life brings - the hardships and the joys.

    The more we notice, the more we increase our capacity to be with the fullness of life and touch into our aliveness. To be more present with our kids, with our lovers, and with ourselves!

  • I truly believe that our bodies are a vessel of healing. If you feel tired of talking yourself in circles in therapy, then I might be the therapist for you!
    We may logically understand what we are struggling with but the imprints of that struggle are embedded in our bodies. In deepening our relationship with our bodies, we give space for those stuck patterns to arise and pass.

    “The body is a letter from the unconscious to the conscious mind”

  • I take on a “no bad parts” perspective - which means that I believe all the different parts of you have served a necessary purpose to get you to where you are.

    We approach all the different pieces of you with compassion and reverence while also trying to come into better harmony.

    *Adapted from Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Gestalt

  • Brainspotting is a somatic based practice that processes from the deep brain. This modality can provide rapid growth and transformation with no or minimal talking.


    To read more about brainspotting, please click here.

  • As a direct product of immigration and avid traveler, I take great care to welcome and respect all the variations of lived experience, cultures, and religious beliefs.

    Let’s be honest, Western psychology was made with one population in mind and that is not the global majority. In an active effort to practice within a decolonial perspective, I do my best to operate from a place of deep humility and respect.
    This includes being open to feedback and criticism.

  • Some ways I may incorporate decolonial philosophies in therapy:

    • Being slow to diagnose or label a client

    • Taking into account the larger systems (societal, familial, economical, etc)

    • Returning to the wisdom of the body rather than putting the thinking mind on a pedestal

    • Incorporating transpersonal/spiritual elements

    • Nature Based Therapy

Illustration of a woman and a girl walking hand in hand through a field of flowers, both wearing matching shirts with a heart symbol.

“Sorrow prepares you for joy.

It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter.

It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh, green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow.

Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.”

~ Rumi

A Pause for Presence

Get a taste of working with me by sitting in a guided meditation together.

Coming soon.

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Let’s Work Together

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