Services
- Individual
About My Clients
People who have tried changing their thoughts and changing their prescriptions, and are still struggling, find me. People who are angry about their very human feelings and experiences being called mental illness, find me. People who want to find their own truths and believe it is inside them, and they just need a guide, find me. And sometimes, people just find me, and we explore together, and learn about compassion and gentle curiosity together, and they find themselves, and like what they find.
My Background and Approach
I trained 2-1/2 years through the Hakomi Institute in body-centered, experiential, mindfulness-based psychotherapy. I then went back to college at 41 years old, completed my bachelor's degree (UNC-Asheville), then graduated with a Master of Social Work degree (UW in Seattle) in 2010, and returned to my beloved, adopted city of Portland, OR. Eduardo Duran's work inspires me. Duran is a Native American psychologist who validates historical trauma and spiritual healing. My work is also informed by having experienced years of deep depression and a time of "cracking open," and through both was able to find profound meaning.
My Personal Beliefs and Interests
I welcome all adult clients. I bring special sensitivity to women's, Jewish, and LGBATTSQQ (Lesbian/ Gay/ Bisexual/ Asexual/ Trans/ Two Spirit/ Queer/ Questioning) identity and oppression. I have been a part of the radical mental health movement for a decade. I recognize that there are many ways to understand mental/emotional differences, challenges, and crises, and that the person going through the experience is the expert on that experience. I also believe that challenges and crises do not lie within a person, but between people; within larger social, economic and environmental systems; and often across generations.