Staff Spotlight

Ty Kellewood, Therapist

By Clare Jensen

For Puyallup Tribal News
cjensen@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: October 02, 2008

Ty Kellewood is one of the newest counselors at the Kwawachee Counseling Center. As a Navajo Nation tribal member, and being originally from the Northern Navajo Nation (Shiprock, New Mexico), Ty Kellewood has spent the majority of his life in Denver, Colo., where he recently received his master’s degree in counseling psychology and counselor education from the University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center in 2005. Since then, he has worked with various tribes in the East.

Ty Kellewood started at the Kwawachee Counseling Center Aug. 4, 2008 and has since been enjoying his work. Ty Kellewood said he chose to become a counselor due to his own experience with personal growth. “Knowing we can change for the better – I wanted to foster people’s personal growth.”

As a general counselor, Ty Kellewood works with adults as well as children. He said his favorite part about working as a counselor is “developing a meaningful therapeutic working relationship…or alliance with clients, all the while watching their growth…watching them actualize to their potential.”

As a new counselor, working in the field for a little more than three years, Ty Kellewood said he is always learning more about himself as well. “I like the challenge,” he said. “I enjoy increasingly becoming a more knowledgeable clinician. Working adds to the understanding.”

Aside from the counseling aspects of his job he enjoys, Ty Kellewood said he truly enjoys the place and the people who he works with.

“I like the staff, I like Tacoma,” he said. “It’s exciting to work with an organization that’s really got it together.”

Outside of work, Ty Kellewood has a variety of hobbies, including fly-fishing, playing guitar, spending time with friends, doing volunteer work and exploring the environment of his new home.

Ty Kellewood hopes to become increasingly more involved in the community as time goes on. He said he desires to stay at the Puyallup Tribal Health Authority for a while.

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