Ryu Hijikata is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Art Therapist at Northwest Relationships. He works with adult individuals, couples, families, and older adults around self-identity exploration, immigration experiences, emotion regulation, life transitions, loss and grief, anxiety, and relationship communication. Ryu approaches the work through a multicultural lens, with particular care for clients navigating cultural identity, immigration, and the experience of systemic oppression and grief.

Ryu's practice integrates Narrative Therapy, Solution-Focused Therapy, and mindfulness, with a client-centered, strength-based, and culturally inclusive approach. He sees his role as empowering clients to reflect on and rewrite the narratives they've been carrying. Ryu also integrates art therapy into the work, offering creative expression as a way to reach what words sometimes can't, drawing from his Art Therapy Specialization training.

Ryu earned his M.A. in Couple and Family Therapy with an Art Therapy Specialization from Antioch University Seattle, and his B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Legal Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He is a member of AAMFT. As a Japanese second-generation immigrant, he brings his cultural experience and personal perspective into his practice. Outside of session, Ryu lives an artistic life, working with ceramics, wood, stained glass, watercolor, acrylic, and fine ink, and also enjoys working with wool and soft fabrics, tending to indoor plants, and spending time with his dog.