Therapists in Portland, OR

I enjoy working with individuals who wish to enhance their functioning with better boundaries and increased communication skills. I have experience and interest in working with QTBIPOC, marginalized identities, intergenerational trauma, and trans/non-binary individuals.

“The wound is the place where the light enters you” – Rumi. Life stressors can contribute to feelings of anxiety, depression, loneliness, and even hopelessness. If you are feeling any of these, know that you are not alone. I trust in the power of therapy to re-examine stressful situations in a therapeutic environment. I am passionate about working with children, families, individuals, and couples to help identify barriers and dysfunctions; and to help facilitate positive changes to reinstate normal functions.

Are you really satisfied with your life skills functioning? My style of therapy is client centered, relationally based and humanistic. Therapy with me is often spirited and marked by humor, frequently challenging, (but always supportive) and can be life changing. In therapy you will move toward introspection and self-analysis, and with my feedback, find the answers to your questions. You will explore and experience yourself in an honest way that will bring clearer realization for the possible need for changes in your life and help strengthen your desire and determination to begin to take action.

As a practitioner I am curious, open-minded, compassionate, and non-judgmental. Current neuroscience research suggests that stress and trauma create our core beliefs and that stress and trauma are stored in our body. This research shows that this leads to emotions, thoughts, sensations, and behaviors that can be unhelpful to being in relationship with ourself and others in loving ways. The research also shows that it is possible to process this stress, trauma, and core beliefs so that we can heal, shift our core beliefs, and increase our window of tolerance so that we have more agency to choose how we respond to life's stressors.

Do you feel exhausted keeping it all together? Or maybe like your brain has a hamster wheel spinning through responsibilities, forgotten tasks, and “should-dos,” without the energy to do them? Are you scrambling to cover up dropped responsibilities? Does the feeling of shame and overwhelm make you want to quit, but slowing down feels impossible? Together, we can find space to balance the spinning plates and feel like you don’t have to be on high alert for something crashing down. We can repair dropped plates—relationships, school, work, parenting, or other important things—even if it feels like they can’t be repaired today.

Difficult life experiences can leave us feeling stuck, anxious, and often angry with ourselves and others. How often do you find yourself asking, why am I reacting this way, or why can’t I stay more in control of my emotions? You want to understand why life is being so challenging for you, and also improve your relationships. In addition you would like to increase your tolerance for stressful situations. You’ve lost friends or have strained relationships. Therefore it’s difficult for you to trust others and you have hurt loved ones by pushing them away or by being too dependent on them.