Circle Creek Therapy strives to make a difference for families

Published 12:02 pm Friday, June 26, 2026

Courtni Doherty, a speech-language pathologist, as well as the founder and CEO of Circle Creek Therapy in Auburn, made the mission of her practice simple.

“No family should have to do this alone.”

Circle Creek Therapy, 1314 Auburn Way N., provides speech, occupational and physical therapy, as well as behavioral health services. The clinic helps individuals with a diverse range of needs and ages bridge the gap between pediatric support and independence in adult life. The practice has over 500 active patients in its system.

Founded in 2015, Circle Creek Therapy has received a large amount of recognition from the community for the work that they do. In 2025 they were awarded the Washington State Small Business Persons of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Courtni Doherty, along with her husband, Stephen Doherty, began Circle Creek Therapy with an aim to support individuals with developmental needs, as well as their families.

Although they are considered a small business, the impact of Circle Creek Therapy has been anything but small.

“It’s not just about the child they’re seeing; it’s about the family,” according to a testimonial shared on the clinic’s website.

What Courtni and Stephen Doherty did not realize is that they would later become parents of a child with special needs themselves.

When asked what testimonials of different families’ experiences mean to them, Courtni Doherty said that “as parents of a child with special needs, it’s a lot of work. We have an entire community around us to answer those questions, but sometimes it can still be isolating. Having other families that have been where you have been…and having that connection is really important.”

One aspect that makes the Doherty’s mission stand out is their “fun” approach to therapy for the patients. A quick tour around the new 3,450-square-foot clinic demonstrates how the practice has gone above and beyond to achieve this goal. Rooms are decorated with colorful murals, lights, beanbags, swings, and several other sensory objects to make patients’ experiences as comfortable as possible.

“A lot of our kiddos have been receiving therapy services for a while; the more fun that you can make it, the easier it is for us to target their goals,” Courtni Doherty said.

Additionally, Circle Creek Therapy is expanding and introduced its new not-for-profit branch, Circle Creek Care’s, at the beginning of this year. Circle Creek Care’s will focus on helping families beyond just therapy in community, education and independence.

The nonprofit will include programs such as the Ripple Project, a transitional job and life skills initiative for teens and young adults, parent education and support groups; Wild Creek Kids, early learning childcare blended with therapeutic support and more, according to the organization.

Courtni Doherty explained a large part of Circle Creek Care’s mission and goal to support families without needing to worry about high costs of these programs.

“We have learned through the 11 years that we have been in business that there are a lot of things that we, as clinicians, do that are not necessarily something that is well supported by the medical industry in general, such as insurance, billing, etc.,” she said.

“If we can create a vision of how health care should be done, a lot of that is unfunded (Sib Shops, parent support groups)…we can create a space where these things happen,” Stephen Doherty said.

He also highlighted the work that Circle Creek Care’s does to support family members beyond parents and patients.

“One of the things that we are working on are Sibling Shops (Sib Shops),” he said. “Especially with a more fun approach to therapy, it can seem like siblings are being left out and we are working toward providing fun activities for siblings.”

“We are not only treating and working with the patient, but we are also working with their family,” Courtni Doherty said.

One of Circle Creek Therapy’s many mottos that drive the mission of the organization is “Building Community. Building Confidence. Building Futures.”

The clinic’s new initiative embraces these exact words and will continue to help not only one individual at one point in their life. Instead, the program will support patients from early childhood throughout their transition to complete independence.

“The vision for Circle Creek Care’s is building that life cycle,” Courtni Doherty said.

The pair is excited to share their nonprofit branch with the community.

“Kids are awesome, they are our future and if we are not supporting them now, we are setting them up for a less full life,” Courtni Doherty said.