Self Esteem Therapists in Hawthorne, Portland, OR

Hi, I'm Michelle Sargenti and my therapy practice is Homebody Counseling, LLC. I firmly believe that we are all deserving of peace, and my intention is to support you in claiming yours. As a therapist, I aim to show up as my authentic self - someone who will laugh with you, grieve with you, celebrate you, and support you in navigating life’s challenges while providing insight into tools that ease the process.

I am now offering Walk & Talk sessions in SW Portland! We'll focus on your therapeutic goals while on the trail. I provide individual Telehealth counseling services for adolescents and adults experiencing self-esteem issues, anxiety, grief, and depression. I care deeply about developing a therapeutic relationship centered around unconditional positive regard, empathy, trust, and safety. It is my privilege to journey beside you in your pursuit of identity development, healing, and growth. A positive counselor-client fit is necessary for effective therapy. If you are interested in working together, I will be delighted to connect.

**Currently I adding to a waitlist, NO available evening appointments** Have you been struggling in life? Are you juggling all of your roles and feel like you're failing to keep up? Imagine being unburdened by anxiety or depressed mood. You could no longer be held back by worry or negative thinking, living a full authentic life with better relationships and more satisfaction, achieving the things you value and want in life. You don't have to let anxiety, depression, poor relationships, problematic self-esteem or stress prevent you from being happy.

I welcome your rough edges, tender places, inner wisdom, and the search for more fulfillment. Together, we will invite self-compassion and acceptance around what is already happening, while also creating ways to experience more satisfying ways of treating yourself, being with others, and inhabiting your life. My clients include people who experience depression, anxiety, grief, anger, and shame, creative folks who are stalled at manifesting their potential, gentle souls who find it hard to navigate in a frenetic world, people who want to establish fresh relationship patterns, and those who are recovering their balance amidst life transitions.

You constantly beat yourself up for each move you make, no matter what you do it’s not enough. You feel lost in the uncertainty of it all- the confusion about who you are, the direction you're going in and how to get out from the trap of your mind. Your relationships suffer as the same patterns play out but you’re stuck in a cycle that leaves you feeling alone. You don’t know who you are anymore, or maybe you realize you never did, but you know that you’re tired of feeling like something's wrong with you. The awareness brings some clarity and now it's deciding what to do with it. You feel ready to make a change.

Falling in love is addictive. It is your brain on cocaine. Until, it isn't. At first, you couldn't picture months of arguing. Even an affair, broken trust. Perhaps you never imagined hiding away, secretly texting a colleague - s/he listens to you. Perhaps you just want the miscommunication and storming out of the room to end.

I try to create a space where discovery can happen. We will collaborate to reach your goals, and strive towards your full potential, but I will also try to inspire a capacity for challenging, and sometimes painful, emotional exploration and growth. I hope to provide the trust and safety necessary for these acts of courage, and, ultimately... love. I specialize in Anxiety, Depression, and Trauma, as well as life transitions, feeling stuck, wanting to learn more about yourself, and improving your quality of life in work, love, relationships, family, friendship, and/or community.

You are taking a big step in seeking out counseling! Congratulations!! I believe you will find it to be an integral part of your life journey in seeking out the changes and goals you desire. In sessions, I provide a safe and trusting environment, will empower you to discover unused resources and strengths and will sift through what areas are ineffective and need changing.

I am a transmasculine gender therapist who is passionate about working with queer and trans clients. I've worked with trans and non-binary children and adults, and offer sessions to write referral letters for gender affirming procedures. In both relationship and individual therapy, I'm sex positive, inclusive of non-monogamy, and comfortable navigating concerns about sexuality & intimacy. I help clients find the tools within themselves to feel empowered. My approach explores beyond your comfort zone, leading to an improved relationship with yourself. Contact with the present moment and somatic interventions help bring you to "now."

I support my clients in weathering life's storms and in discovering the goodness and tenderness that we all possess inside ourselves. I work from a mindfulness-based practice of "being with what is," while teaching clients how to utilize their body as an ally in their healing journey. As a Certified Hakomi Therapist and PACT trained couple therapist I provide counseling for individuals, couples and adult clients and their parents. My approach to counseling is experiential, emotionally focused, somatic, and person-centered. I utilize somatic ways of working with trauma and attachment issues.

We're living through a difficult time period, which can compound upon pre-existing traumas, anxieties, stressors, and relational difficulties. I would love to join you alongside your journey to stability, improved quality of life/relationships, and mental health. I will explore with you your past and current experiences and feelings to get to the root of what is causing struggle and assist in locating a path of healing and relief.

From personal and professional experience I know how hard it can be to navigate difficult circumstances without support- and I’m so glad you’re here. I enjoy working with a range of clients and specialize in assisting individuals and couples who are neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, and/or adult survivors of complex trauma and their partners navigate anxiety, depression, communication issues, and cultivate healthy sexuality. I am also kink/BDSM affirming and poly/ethical non-monogamy affirming.

Life, relationships, even moments, can be hard. It is often difficult to talk about what is going on inside, to find footing when it seems your life is crumbling. I will hold space for you, all yours, a hard thing to find in real life, and provide an opportunity for you to connect more deeply with yourself, heal and recover. We will work collaboratively to develop a healthier, happier you. This creates a natural domino effect into your life. You will learn skills, insight, see the negative dynamics that effect you consciously and unconsciously. This allows you to change, to integrate all the hurt pieces of you into a healthy whole.