Therapists in Foster, Portland, OR

Get Better, heal, integrate, meet your objectives, and relate. My role is to help you become your fullest version of yourselves. My ideal clients are ready to look at new ways of encountering old problems. I enjoy working with many identities, including my own LGBTQ+ and Latinx communities. Relationships, sexuality, identity, trauma, anxiety, kink, and neurodiversity are recurrent therapy themes. At times in our lives it is key to have the competent support of an advocate to walk through tough life experiences. I see Groups, Relationships and Individuals.

You may have worked your issues for a few years, or 10 or more: you’ve started to heal the childhood trauma and you’re experiencing a pretty good sense of stability in your life. But you’re ready for another round of work. Some things are pulling at you or prodding you and you’d like to get some guidance in taking the next step towards waking up in your deeper parts. Perhaps you’d like support in stepping out of the culture of blame that is so rampant right now. Maybe you’d like some help in bringing more kindness and generosity into your relationships and the world. You are wanting to be doing more of what you took birth to do.

Talk therapy is a brave endeavor and can be extremely creative and rewarding. The most important part of my approach is creating an effective working partnership with you, so that you can get the most out of therapy. Ongoing distress in our lives can bring us to therapy, and with good work can lead us to both acceptance and long-term psychological flexibility and wellness. Many people find this path to be an exciting and generative one. It can even be fun at times. With my training from around the world, I specialize in creating unique clinical formulations to aid clients in fostering shifts in their lives.

I entered the mental health field based on my own life-changing experience when I went through therapy to address the impact of childhood traumas.  With the help of my counselors my life transformed from hopeless and stuck to empowered and whole.  I had no idea this kind of transformation was even possible.  Now, it is my turn to give back and walk alongside those who choose the difficult path of recovery.  I won't have your answers since your story and personality are unique.  What I do have is familiarity with the path, faith in your ability to find your answers, and professional experience guiding individuals toward wholeness.

Mid-life can be deeply rewarding, but it can also feel like a never-ending pile of stress. It's not surprising that you’re feeling the weight of the world on your shoulders. You may be navigating complex relationships, career and caregiving responsibilities, finances, and health issues, not to mention a pandemic or the multitude of systemic oppressive forces alive in our country today! On top of it all, you may notice that your tools for managing stress (alcohol, food, pushing yourself to the max) aren’t really cutting it anymore and may even be causing harm. The pressure is overwhelming, and you're not sure how to handle it all.

Life is full of change and I am passionate about working with women throughout various difficult life transitions including, puberty, going to college, starting a new job/career, pregnancy, postpartum anxiety/depression, adjustment to parenthood and grief and loss. Anxiety, depression or stress and overwhelm can creep up during these moments and we will work together to get you the tools you need to cope and thrive. You are the expert on your own life and I am here to help you explore and process difficult issues, build upon your own inner resources and gain new skills to help navigate your emotions.

Even in the darkest hours there is hope that healing and wholeness is possible. Do you suffer with the effects of depression, anxiety, addiction, self-loathing or lack of self-esteem? Do you have trouble with anger, communication or setting boundaries? There is hope! You are the author of your own story, and a skilled, caring counselor can help you find the tools you need to navigate through the hard times and be able to feel empowered to continue writing your story.

I am a queer therapist offering individual therapy, an emphasis on kink-, poly-, sex-, and body-positivity to support a deeper connection to the empowerment, community, and home within yourself. I am passionate about utilizing harm reduction and social justice in understanding and supporting clients who experience marginalization, individual and intergenerational trauma; deep suffering and all of the behaviors and challenges from that.

I work with people that are feeling stuck, not good enough, or anxious and would like help shifting their lives. I believe people inherently have the potential for growth and healing. Our time together will explore the root of the challenges you're facing, identify patterns, and help you come out the other side into a new chapter of your life.

Current Openings-Tuesdays: 10:30am-11:25am/Wednesdays: 8:30-9:25am, 12:30pm-1:25pm/Thursdays: 9:30am-10:25am. Please send an email with a time from these openings that works for you. I have experience providing individual therapy to those dealing with anxiety, stress, trauma, and substance use. I know that life can bring about loss in many forms and believe in the healing power of a therapeutic relationship. I believe in working with clients to help in identifying and creating new ways to live a healthy life.

Whether you're searching for a thoughtful and supportive ear to talk through what's on your mind, looking to heal from something difficult, or wanting to find ways around the obstacles that are limiting your full potential, I look forward to hearing from you. My style is based in mindfulness/mind-body approaches and centers around welcoming you with a compassionate presence and a non-judgemental curiosity.

A person considering counseling is already making the first step of trying to achieve, or return to, a healthier and happier equilibrium. I believe that “loosening up” and releasing the many things we hold, particularly unconsciously, allow us to activate that capacity and return to, or discover, a healthier state of being. Top-down, this would involve uncovering our various thought patterns, reactions, and story that we have about ourselves. Bottom-up, it involves noticing and feeling - the various ways our body is in relation to how we are mentally.