Therapists in Portland, OR

You’ve done your best to follow the rules and make everyone around you happy. Others see you as a strong person, but you find yourself feeling alone and frustrated. The pressure of being the strong, dependable person wears on you. If something goes right, it doesn’t seem to last. Someone offers a compliment, but you dismiss it without even trying. All the good things that occur seem like they’re temporary and you’re waiting for the other shoe to drop. You never feel good enough. It feels like you have an obligation to please others, but there’s no one there to return the favor. It’s finally time to get some help and change this.

I provide therapy depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, addictions and co-occurring and disorders, as well as general life stress and family of origin issues. I consider myself a generalist able to treat a wide variety of mental and emotional issues. I particularly specialize in the LGBT community.

I believe that each of us have great capacity for personal growth. Psychotherapy can be a powerful and effective modality in the process of better understanding ourselves and in working toward change. I specialize in attachment-related issues that often result in vulnerabilities that affect one's current relationships as well as one's sense of self worth. I also have a focus on identity issues related to race, culture, and sexual orientation with a focus on the experience of Asian, biracial, and multiracial people. Additionally, I have extensive experience in treating healthcare workers affected by trauma and burnout.

In life, having a space where we can be seen, heard, accepted, and valued can be invaluable. My ultimate aim is to provide a counseling environment characterized by compassion and unconditional positive regard where together we can meet you authentically for who you are, right where you are, wherever that is. Whether you are coming to therapy for trauma, anxiety, depression, or something else, I believe in a collaborative journey that provides a space for you to be, explore, grow, and heal.

Ready to make real progress on feeling in greater control of your mental health and mood symptoms? Committed to living in authenticity? Need a more structured and directive Counseling approach with the goal of implementing stress management, coping skills, and some case management now? But also feeling the need for Therapy to address the underlying, fundamental trauma and losses too? My clients want their treatment to be less clinical, and more alternative, even incorporating the Metaphysical and spiritual to successfully reduce their negative experiences and increase their positive ones.

I offer professional therapy to support people and families in creating the change and movement they hope for in their lives. People often struggle with life challenges, relationships, unhelpful patterns of behavior, or feeling stuck and unable to make the changes that they want. I believe it is possible to move forward in a fulfilling and healthy way through support, empathy, exploration and collaborative challenge. I specialize in working with: teenager and parent relationships; couples challenges; trauma/stress reactivity; anxiety, attachment issues, depression and mood disorders; life transitions, personality difficulties, and lifestyle/health and wellness.

Trauma, stress, and anxiety harm us. In response we disconnect from our partners, families, and communities. Our future and our identity are stolen from us. A joyful life filled with hope and meaning can feel out of reach. This is especially true for people in the helping professions - physicians, nurses, counselors, mental health workers, teachers and others - where rapidly increasing expectations and demands from the job often outpace our resilience and ability to effectively cope and change.

Everyone deserves support and guidance amidst the challenges of life, the transitions into adulthood, and the struggles of school. My counseling practice is focused on adolescent girls, non-binary youth, and young adult women all between the ages of 15-21. Please reference this age range in your inquiry about counseling. In our work together you will be offered the opportunity to pause, reflect, and problem solve with an experienced therapist. I seek to create an authentic relationship through talk therapy where you cultivate your true self and true emotional intelligence.