Domestic Abuse Therapists in Hosford, Portland, OR

I have worked with varied populations throughout Louisiana and Oregon; most often with male & female adults, couples, adolescents, and children ages 7-11. I have addressed multiple varied needs including sexual dysfunction, gang activity, drug use, domestic violence, PTSD, personality, mood disorders as well as relationship issues. **Education: I have a bachelor's degree (4 years) in Psychology (Oregon State University, Corvallis). I also have (one year) education (Holy Cross College, New Orleans, Louisiana) in Marriage and Family Therapy. I acquired a master's degree in Social Work (3 year master's program) from Portland State University in Portland, Oregon.

Your willingness to seek help is a courageous step towards healing & change. I believe in the transformative power of a therapeutic relationship and view it as our combined effort. I use LGBTQIA+ affirming, social justice-oriented, trauma-informed, and strengths-based approaches to foster a safe, consistent and curious environment that supports your wisdom while guiding your pursuit of valued and meaningful living. Our partnership will include my extensive education & advanced training working with individuals who have been adversely impacted by relational and attachment disruptions, abuse/neglect and complex traumatic experiences.

I became a therapist to help people recover from the traumas they have suffered in a world riddled with abuse. I want to share hope, like someone once did for me and lead others to a more full life when it seems impossible. If you're looking at this now, chances are you're in a really difficult space and looking for answers. I hope that we can meet and figure out your unique answers together, rewrite the story of you so that you can build the life you want.

Many of us struggle to find joy in life, feel in control of our own decisions and reactions, overcome anxiety, forge meaningful connections with others, or have a strong sense of self. Emotions can be overwhelming, and we can often feel lost in our own heads. Over the last few years, even more of us have found ourselves struggling to find solid ground amidst chaos.

Therapy, Altered best supports BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ individuals, couples, families, and groups who are healing from abuse, neglect, or psychological trauma, including racial/systemic oppression. Our clients know that hope is out there, and that they have the ability to heal and feel better. Most of our clients hold multiple marginalized identities while managing complex mental health challenges. Our clients come to us seeking culturally relevant services and authentic relationship with clinicians who share some of their lived experience.

Relationships are the fundamental building blocks of human experience. We are shaped by and devote many resources to them, and they can be sources of inspiration, support, and consistent love. They can also be harmful and even dangerous, especially when an individual's relationship templates have began as dysfunctional in their families of origin. Many of my clients have been or currently are in relationships with narcissistic/disordered partners, family members, or bosses, or were/are members of high-control groups. Healing is possible after these relationships, and there is hope for choosing healthier people to love.

I trust that whatever appears in the mind, body, and emotions has its purpose and wants to be deeply heard, honored, understood, and embraced; that all the Psyche expresses are attempts toward our wholeness and realizing the jewel of our Essential Being. With this compassion and care, healing can unfold, patterns and beliefs transformed, and we can live our true potential and purpose, innate wisdom, and experience happiness, peace, and joy.

Is there a general sense of tension and unease that permeates your day-to-day life? Do you struggle with honoring your own needs and setting healthy boundaries? Maybe you’re feeling stuck or frozen. Is it difficult to connect with others? Do you never feel quite good enough? Many of the clients I work with live with constant feelings of shame and regret. Others feel timid and fearful engaging with the world, and find themselves lonely and isolated. And many clients battle with painful, traumatic memories from their past.

Accepting New Clients (updated 5/7/23) Have you experienced a recent loss, trauma or are navigating a life transition? Are you finding yourself struggling to cope with the life's stressors and uncertainties? Would you like to have less conflict in your relationships? Whatever the challenge I look forward to supporting you to identify your next best step. I am committed to providing a nurturing, safe and shame free therapeutic environment for my clients to explore barriers to their healing and a path to personal growth.

Establishing a sense of wholeness and direction in our lives is often revealed once obstacles are known and cleared. This process of self discovery is far more potent and transformational when working with a therapist who can help navigate these unfamiliar places. My practice is largely informed by the personal experience of profound grief. Journeying through these difficult waters allows me to uniquely empathize and assist my clients through life struggles and losses.

As a psychotherapist and contemporary psychoanalyst, I will help you deal with your concerns and distress through greater understanding of what goes on inside of you. We will listen to and work with your feelings, dreams, fantasies, sadness, fears, hopes and desires with compassion and insight. During the past thirty years, I have helped adults, teenagers and children create a safe space in therapy based on trust and respect to develop a sturdier sense of self, have more satisfying relationships, reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety, and access what was previously out of awareness or unthought that can now inform daily life.

Taking the first step to get help and support can be confusing and hard to navigate. This is particularly difficult when we are struggling. I understand this and want to support you in feeling better and getting more out of your life. I believe that the most important way I can support you in counseling is by helping us build a trusting, collaborative relationship where you feel seen, heard and understood.

Our lives evolve in relationship to ourselves, our partners, our families, communities and other beings (e.g. animals & the land). Healing involves allowing a healthy flow of emotion, communication, care and balance in those areas where we find ourselves stuck. I specialize in working with international and interracial couples and families; and anxiety related disorders including traumatic stress, generalized anxiety, panic attacks and social anxiety from a multicultural perspective. I am fully bilingual and multicultural and will bring to our work my life experience across cultures and my professional training.

Now Accepting New Clients for In-Person Integrative Therapy. Trauma and depression can leave us immobilized, fragmented, and disconnected from our core aliveness. I am here to support you in finding a path toward wholeness and your most vibrant, authentic and embodied Self. Together we will bring conscious attention and care to the many facets of your being- body, mind, spirit, emotions, relationships- to support you in moving toward what you desire.

To consult, visit: awakenedheartpdx.com/book-with-us .. Therapy connects you to your authentic self, an act of self-love. It is a leap of reconnection to the deeper layers within you that fuel growth, acceptance and contentment. I offer tools to support you as you evolve, optimizing your present moment. With a psychodynamic lens, I can connect you to the various "selfs" you've inhabited through the years. And with mindfulness, I connect you to awakening your full self, shedding limiting beliefs and reframing narratives. Whether your needs are focused on short-term, or long-term, I welcome them.

The most important thing you should know about me is that I am passionate about life. If you're ready to stop existing and start living. Allow me to help you resolve the issues that prevent you from reaching self-actualization and living up to your full potential. If you're unable to cope with difficult issues & want to make changes contact me.

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.

Please, make yourself comfortable with a cozy blanket or a hot cup of tea. Then, let’s talk about you. About how life keeps wearing you out because it’s always one thing after another. But you keep going. Trying so hard to keep everything running smoothly or everyone happy. Meanwhile, you plaster on a smile, barely masking the irritability and emptiness. On really tough days, you begin to wonder if something is wrong with you. It’s a brutal cycle of spirals! Let me help you manage and heal from this!

You're here because you've been thinking about therapy for a while. It takes time to recognize that we are unhappy with the course of our lives and relationships and that meaningful change is even possible. There are reasons why you are feeling the way you are, and we can uncover those reasons and create new paths going forward. In our work together I'll create a safe place for us to explore these feelings and assist you in sifting out those thoughts about self that work for you from those that don't.