“Without community there is no liberation” – Audre Lorde
I am providing both telehealth and in-person services.
We live in a time of great hostility, instability, and disempowerment for those who continue to be pushed to the margins of society. I am particularly attuned to the terrifying, nationwide threats that face trans and gender-diverse (TGD) youth and adults that seek to remove our access to life-affirming care, bodily autonomy, and ability to live safely with a sense of wholeness. In sharing in your pain, I firmly believe that we can cultivate a renewed hope, honor the grief of what has been lost, and heal within the context of community.
In our work together, I hope to consider the ways in which various forms of trauma, as well as discrimination and marginalization incurred throughout life may be worsening your current challenges. I utilize evidence-based practices, such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Dialectical Behavior Therapy, guided by a liberation philosophy to recognize the ways in which larger oppressive structures and sociopolitical factors significantly contribute to the struggles that are experienced within the self, family, and community. I have significant experience working with adults who struggle with depression, anxiety, PTSD and complex trauma, as well as gender dysphoria and transition-related concerns. Additionally, I have written numerous letters of support for gender-affirming surgeries and I am familiar with navigating the process to receive services through OHSU. I firmly believe that our shared critical awareness of the social, political, and material conditions of your circumstances within this world can open up the possibility for change through shifting toward a more flexible, gentle space in which joy and long-held wisdom can flourish.
I am a white, queer, transfeminine person, who is dedicated to working with other folks within the LBGTQIA+ community, particularly TGD individuals and those questioning or interested in exploring their gender/sexual identity, as well as other marginalized people who continue to be disproportionately affected by systemic inequities. My approach to therapy is grounded in gender-, kink-, poly-, and neurodivergent-affirming practices that seek to recognize the harmful impact of cisheteropatriarchical values and beliefs that have become internalized over time. Given the intersectional reality of marginalized identities within the culture of white supremacy, my efforts are explicitly and intentionally committed to anti-racism. As a white therapist who may work with people of color, I believe that it is essential that I recognize my own privileged positionality, center the lived experiences of others, and decolonize my approach to therapy. Together, I hope to join you in a collective resistance against the oppressive systems that seek to divide, isolate, and disempower us by imagining and co-creating a more sustainable interdependence in which we can transform our world.
Treatment Approach
Orientation: My approach is rooted in evidence-based treatments that include: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and mindfulness
Modality: individual
Client Focus
Ages: adults 18+
Qualifications
Practicing Since: 2018
Degree: Ph.D., Clinical Psychology
Year Graduated: 2024
License Number and State: working towards licensing under the supervision of Kati Lear, Ph.D. (OR 3392)
Specialties
- TGD and LGBTQIA+ adults, including individuals exploring gender and/or sexual identity
- Gender dysphoria and transition-related concerns
- Letters of support for TGD people pursuing medical intervention
- Recovery from PTSD and complex trauma
- Internalized oppression (e.g., transnegativity, heterosexism, ableism, racism)
- Shame and self-criticis
Financial
Average Cost: $200-250
Accepted Insurance Plans: OHP
Email Address: skelly@portlandpsychotherapy.com
Phone: 503-281-4852