Therapists in Portland, OR

I offer counseling and coaching for adults and their families who are facing challenging life transitions, such as serious medical illness (e.g. cancer, multiple sclerosis), relationship change, career change and retirement, midlife revitalization, loss and bereavement.

I believe that everyone’s story is unique. We all experience pain in our lives, but it doesn’t have to define our future. I treat everyone with unconditional positive regard, validate your experience with gentle reframing, and help you find new ways to cope and handle life’s challenges. I customize treatment to fit your needs, life circumstances, and values. We will engage in meaningful work that will assist you in knowing and loving yourself more fully, while letting go of what no longer serves you.

My approach is person-centered and trauma informed. I use Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and mindfulness. I incorporate body and sex positivity and I am also poly- and kink-affirming. I value the importance of engaging with my clients through an intersectional lens and with cultural humility. I provide gender-affirming care based on the Informed Consent for Access to Trans Health (ICATH)model and World Professional Association for Transgender Health.

I have been treating anxiety and related disorders since 1994. My specific expertise is in treating symptoms of excessive worry, fears, social anxiety, obsessions/compulsions, panic, and mood disturbances. More generally, I work with clients on self esteem, relationship, and life transition issues. Using an empathic, nonjudgmental approach, I focus treatment on each individual's specific goals and values to help them attain a higher level of life satisfaction. I will make every effort to provide a safe and supportive environment for you to feel the trust and confidence to move to your next stage of growth.

Creating change in our minds, our relationships, and our society takes internal work. Without self-care, we can get burned out from feeling anxious about the world around us, coping with internalized oppression,or struggling with self-esteem. We are shaped by our feelings about ourselves and our surroundings. I use a multicultural feminist approach to explore these feelings, relationships, and process the effects of your social context. Therapy can be a safe space to support, challenge, and motivate you while you're doing the brave work of learning, growing and healing.

I am currently not taking new clients. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor with 12 years of experience working in mental health. Through my own experiences in the military, I experienced first-hand Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety, and depression. After leaving the Navy, I sought therapy to help process what I experienced. While completing my education, I worked at Veterans' Affairs, helping combat Veterans who experienced PTSD and other challenges, including drug and alcohol addiction. I bring this experience to working with you in processing trauma and other issues you may be experiencing.

***Not currently accepting new clients*** My work focuses on helping survivors of betrayal trauma to heal and to thrive. Most of my clients have experienced a betrayal of trust either by loved ones such as a parent, partner, or friend, or an institution such as their university or employer. I specialize in helping survivors to overcome feelings of shame and self-criticism that are actually adaptive responses to betrayal trauma, but that are no longer serving them. In learning to let go of shame and self-criticism, a new way of living becomes possible that is richer, more joyful, and more connected than was previously possible.