Therapists in Irvington, Portland, OR

As a therapist I’m drawn to those places of breakdown that so often have the potential to become breakthroughs. Usually these are discovered in the midst of broader life-cycle transitions, moments of grief and loss, seasons of depression or anxiety, or in response to the myriad of social and cultural pressures we face. These experiences can be disorienting, frightening and isolating, but with the support of a trusted companion to help us face the journey they can also reveal our own innate wisdom and strength and serve as the gateway to deeper healing and wholeness.

Welcome. I approach therapy as a collaborative and respectful process to help individuals, couples, and families learn new, adaptive ways to relieve emotional distress from anxiety or depression, illness, loss, grief, and trauma, therefore, becoming much more empowered and successful in their lives. In couples therapy, partners learn to manage and repair conflict, improve sexual intimacy, recover from betrayal, and enhance trust and friendship. Family therapy creates healthy patterns, routines, and behaviors to improve and heal maladaptive family dynamics and learn respectful and loving ways to communicate more successfully.

For most people, strong relationships are an important indicator of health and well-being. When we feel stuck in old patterns that no longer serve us, our connection to others suffers too, which can turn up as depression, anxiety, or simply feeling alone and disconnected. By reconnecting with our essential gifts and strengths through the therapy process, we in turn can offer more to family, friends, and community.

Moving Through Uncertainty To Rediscover Peace: Hi, I'm Colette. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in Portland, Oregon. I specialize in grief/loss and anxiety, and also help people with depression, addictive behaviors and individuals who experience an unhealthy relationship with food. I know first hand the emotional and mental toll that the death of a loved one can take, and the many ways in which anxiety can leave one feeling stuck and isolated. ​​​My practice is all about helping my clients rediscover their place of peace.

Being present with ourselves and our lives is the most potent force for change. I am a climate-aware therapist working with individuals, couples, and families experiencing loss, grief, confusion, and conflict. My work focuses on grief, death & dying, trauma integration, and climate distress. Increasing our capacity to tolerate our pain and listen to what we really need dramatically increases our well-being. What would it be like to be more present in your life? Our work together can help you move towards a more fulfilling experience of life, even when loss and grief are present.

I am currently accepting new couples clients (self-pay), and individual clients. I offer a personalized and compassionate approach to therapy, informed by years of professional experience as well as in-depth training in somatic approaches, mindfulness techniques, and psychodynamic theory. Specializing in treating people suffering from trauma and eating disorders, I also work with a wide range of issues including depression, anxiety, grief, parenting, low self-esteem, addiction, and marital conflicts. I currently offer telehealth sessions to clients in both Oregon and California, as I am fully licensed in both states.

When working with clients I prioritize the therapeutic relationship. We become a team working toward your goals, and I place significant value on honesty, authenticity, humor, compassion, validation, and accountability into our work together. Since starting my counseling practice I have worked with people of all ages and backgrounds experiencing various challenges including but not limited to anxiety, depression, OCD, trauma, gender dysphoria, grief, interpersonal issues, life transitions, adoption, self-esteem, bipolar II disorder, and more.

Are you ready to live a better you? You are taking the first step in attaining peace-of-mind, I respect and applaud you for doing so. I have a Masters degree in Social Work from Portland State University and over 40 years of experience working as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. I began my private practice, Pathways to Peace Therapy, over 20 years ago, while also working in community mental health and E.R. crisis intervention for over 15 years. In 2014, I also began working with OCD patients. Working in various mental health settings has been invaluable in providing tools to bring to my clients individual needs and goals.

I provide mental health and career counseling to individuals and couples dealing with life's challenges. Do you want to understand more about yourself, about your identity, about the way the patterns you've learned in the past might no longer be serving you? Do you deal with the challenges of depression, anxiety, guilt, past trauma, and grief or loss? Come on in and we can explore all of it in a supportive environment.

I hold PhD in Clinical Psychology and a Master's Degree in Psychology. I am a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. I support my clients in achieving greater well being by honing what is genuinely unique and important to them. I teach practices that boost resiliency to stress and inspire self-esteem and self-compassion to bloom. I support my clients in breaking through blocks and in unleashing authentic and dynamic self-expression, so that their values are congruent with their behavior and their intentions and desires become experiences that are truly lived.

I have worked in private practice as a clinical psychologist for over thirty years. Most of my clients arrive after trying various types of therapy and find my “explore-in-this-moment” approach refreshing and transformational. By distinguishing old defenses from new experience and encouraging clients to explore both sides of this fork separately, personal development naturally unfolds. In the work, I normalize the human tendency to resist change while offering clients the opportunity to step beyond the world they know to explore at the edge of the unknown, the source of all change.

If you are finding yourself feeling emotionally altered and without a place to process your feelings confidentially, please contact me. As your counselor, I will provide a nonjudgmental, confidential, and attentive setting in which you can express yourself honestly. The counseling experience will allow you to verbalize feelings, thoughts, and behaviors that may contribute to your area of concern.

You may be someone who seeks the equilibrium, safety, inner strength and peace of mind which can emerge from living more authentically. You may even know the road to get there, but have experienced times of difficulty, moving you away from where you want to be internally or relationally. You may be ready to engage in delving more deeply into yourself. Therapy can help you reach your goals. It can help you refine fine your communication skills, and teach you new ones. Face your feelings, and learn to move through them in a safe space that is completely yours. Get a better sense of who you are and who you want to be in the world.

Do you feel as though you are your own worst enemy? When in the midst of a problem or stressful situation, does it seem like you make matters worse by being self-critical or saying self-defeating things to yourself? When we are going through something painful or difficult to accept, our internal dialogue sometimes becomes judgmental and self-critical, causing us to feel overwhelmed and doubt our ability to manage things on our own. Often we do not notice how the relationship we have with ourselves affects our ability to cope, solve problems, and live the life we want.

You've been in therapy before and your life has really improved, but something still lingers... that thing that you're worried will "never change." Perhaps you've struggled to feel served or represented by the majority of the current therapy industry because of your personal or political values. You're self-motivated and know how to engage in the work, and now you've delved into spiritual growth with curiosity and are looking to integrate that into therapy. You're not interested in identifying with a diagnosis, labels, or symptoms... you're on a quest to resolve a problem with the way you think and feel, so you can be WHOLE.

I have been in practice since 1994 and know that change, growth and healing is possible in the context of a therapeutic relationship. My style is safe, warm and straightforward. We will increase your access to and awareness of underlying beliefs and heighten your ability to tune into and better meet your own needs. You will learn to better tolerate your emotions and bodily sensations, developing an enhanced ability to healthfully soothe yourself. You will cultivate greater courage, clarity and flexibility. My clients create relationships with greater intimacy and become more consistently authentic, creative and effective.

I know and believe that healing can be achieved as it has in my own life. With this knowledge, I seek to provide a safe and non-judgmental environment for my clients to begin their healing journey.

I believe that it is important to find a therapist that is a good fit for you. There are many wonderful therapists, but it is important for you to feel that you are understood, supported, and sometimes gently challenged by your therapist. I will ask you to identify what you want help with or what you are feeling distress around and then will actively work with you toward your goals.

We may feel ready for a new direction and unsure how to make meaningful change. Our habits may seem increasingly inadequate to meet our daily challenges. We may experience patterns of venting and withdrawing, or feel ashamed of our thoughts or desires. Your therapy can focus on providing the means for you to renegotiate your relationships. We also focus on bringing to light the implicit stories, narratives, and beliefs that form the foundation of your self-understanding and relationship with yourself, others, and the world.