About

I have always been drawn to understanding what makes people tick. The “why” behind everything has been my focus in my career as a branding designer and remains true in my career as a psychotherapist. Our symptoms, psychological or otherwise, are cues for where to look but aren’t the true problem to be solved. Our symptoms (anxiety, depression, etc.) are the outward manifestations of our inner wounds and where the “work” begins.

My approach, drawing from depth psychology and attachment theory, centers around first creating a safe and compassionate space for clients to consider their inner world and uncover unconscious patterns and beliefs. I believe therapy (at its best) is a safe place to repair how we interact with the outer world, i.e., relationship patterns and intimacy issues, as well as a safe place to uncover and repair our relationship with our inner world, i.e., negative self-image, addiction, etc. Therapy is your time; I am here to help guide and reflect and offer you about 50 minutes to touch ground, feel heard, and perhaps, spin a little less.

My work with children and adolescents is similar in approach, with the addition of art and play-based therapy, family systems, and developmental theories. My work with children and parents as well as my own parenting is largely influenced by the work of Dr. Gordon Neufeld and Dr. Lisa Damour. I consider my work with kids to be primarily about being another adult on their team, helping them by seeing them. I encourage parents to be involved and offer support and resources to parents as part of therapeutic services.

I am registered as a Professional Counselor Associate (#R8393) with the state of Oregon and as an Associate Marriage & Family Therapist (#140413) in California and am under the supervision of Carly Henderson, LPC, LMHC in Oregon. I received my Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpenteria, California, and completed a 20-month internship at River’s Way Community Counseling Clinic in Portland, Oregon.

Artwork placed on my site (modified for web use) are creations of Elena Fiorenza of Fiorenza Art and Daren Thomas Magee of Real Fun, Wow