Dr. Priyal Ranasinghe

Trauma

Dr. Ranasinghe has extensive expertise helping individuals heal from the overwhelming impact of trauma, including childhood adversities, complex trauma, PTSD, moral injury, and betrayal trauma. It is important to feel safe and in control when working through our past hurt, and Dr. Ranasinghe will help provide that safe space towards post traumatic growth. Our past trauma may be demanding attention and resolution, especially during times of life transitions. Dr. Ranasinghe will help support you through these challenges that may seem daunting.

Anxiety and Depression

Dr. Ranasinghe often conceptualizes Anxiety and Depression as signals from the body with an important message for us.  We may be overexerting ourself in our many roles or there may be internal and external demands we are currently ill-equipped to meet. If you’re feeling down, unmotivated, or like the joys have diminished, you are not alone. Depression is a common struggle, and we are glad you are seeking the right support so that it does not come to define you. Anxious thoughts often compound existing worries and make things feel unmanageable. Dr. Ranasinghe can help work through these painful thoughts and feelings that are limiting your life.

Neurodiversity

Dr. Ranasinghe has a passion for and expertise working with neurodivergent individuals, including those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD/ADD) and Autism. As a clinician, he was diagnosed with ADHD later in life, and is intimately aware of the impact of neurodivergence in our functioning and interpersonal relationships. Neurodivergence can present a unique set of difficulties that can make a person feel alone and unsupported. Dr. Ranasinghe’s work with neurodivergent clients focuses on a client-centered and strengths-based approach to therapy. He recognizes that every individual’s neurodivergent journey is unique, and tailors his therapeutic interventions to meet the specific needs, goals, and preferences of each client. Sometimes it is about understanding the self better, advocacy for accommodations, or it can be about communicating needs to those important to us. Dr. Ranasinghe places a strong emphasis on fostering a safe and non-judgmental therapeutic environment where clients can explore their challenges and celebrate their diversity.

Addiction and Sex therapy

It is a natural human tendency to move away from pain and towards pleasure. Humanity has long engaged in substances and compulsions, often these do not cause detrimental harm to self or other. But when it does, we want to engage in non-judgmental curiosity about our internal processes so we can feel in control once again. Dr. Ranasinghe helps individuals who are struggling with problematic and compulsive sexual behaviors to break the self-destructive cycle, create healthy intimacy, repair their relationship, and live within their values. He has helped clients work through self-destructive feelings of shame while learning to be vulnerable and connect with others. Dr. Ranasinghe works with clients experiencing Erectile Dysfunction, Vaginismus, and other barriers to living one’s authentic sexual self.

Individual Therapy

We all experience the world in a way that is unique to us. Our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are based on our subjective reality and it is important to honor this experience. This is often the best reason to engage in therapy so that we may understand ourselves better. For those with marginalized identities and multiple roles, this is even more true so that we can be the most authentic version of us for ourselves and others.

In therapy, Dr. Ranasinghe utilizes evidence-based interventions and therapeutic modalities, drawing from a wide range of approaches such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Cognitive-Processing Therapy (CPT), Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Psychodynamic Psychotherapy. He has been trained with a broad range of specializations and remains committed to staying updated with the latest advancements in the field to ensure his clients receive the highest quality of care.

Couples therapy

In his work with couples, Dr. Ranasinghe understands that relationships can both be a source of healing, and a realm deeply impacted by past experiences. His approach to therapy is rooted in empathy, cultural sensitivity, and respect for each person’s unique journey. He recognizes the importance of creating a safe and inclusive space where clients can openly express their thoughts, emotions, and experiences. The person that we are has an impact on those around us, and those people often want to know how to best support us. Couples therapy is one of the best approaches to making sure we get the support we need while showing our commitment to the relationship.

Dr. Ranasinghe has worked with many couples who want to better understand and support one another through past trauma, extramarital affairs, sexual concerns, multicultural differences, those looking for deeper connection, and conflict resolution skills. In session, he helps couples explore how past experiences shape one’s worldview and how this can impact the current relationship. He supports couples in this exploration because in strong relationships it is the couple versus an issue rather than one person versus another. Whatever brings a couple into therapy, they often leave with insight and skills that can serve them for the rest of their life.

Dr. Ranasinghe entered the field of mental health in 2013 when he joined the US Army to work with soldiers experiencing psychological distress. After a brief stint of working with developmentally disabled adults in the legal system, he went on to get his Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Pacific University in Oregon. He has since worked and trained in VA hospitals, Domestic Violence Intervention Programs, Palliative and Hospice Care, Assessment sites, and in Community Mental Health. Dr. Ranasinghe has amassed a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the field, having undergone extensive training and has gained valuable experience working in various clinical modalities and interprofessional care settings.

Beyond his clinical work, Dr. Ranasinghe is passionate about promoting mental health awareness and advocating for equitable access to mental health services. He is also engaged in ongoing research to contribute to the growing body of knowledge in trauma and multicultural care. He is a professor of Human Sexuality for doctoral students in psychology. In his personal life he is usually found reading in the company of his cats, tending to his plants, or spending time outdoors with his wife.

“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” ― Carl R. Rogers