I provide focused, time-limited psychotherapy for individuals who feel stuck in patterns that no longer serve them. My approach helps you discover or reconnect with what truly matters most to you. I’m committed to helping you develop the tools needed to navigate challenges with greater flexibility and move toward what’s most important to you.
I provide both in-person and telehealth services.
What would make for a well-lived, meaningful life?
Many people come to me because they are feeling “stuck.” Sometimes this feels like a sense of lifelessness, chronic dissatisfaction, rumination, or a lack of meaning. This “stuckness” frequently shows up in our relationships. Sometimes our histories, whether that be trauma or other painful experiences, make intimacy or being vulnerable feel very scary, or maybe even impossible. You might find yourself repeating relationship patterns that no longer serve you. For others, the relationship that needs healing is the relationships with yourself – persistent self-criticism, body image concerns, or shame that makes it difficult for you to live authentically and connect deeply with others. You are not broken. You are stuck.
My work is guided by what science has shown to be helpful in getting people unstuck. I work primarily from an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) approach and also incorporate principles form Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT). These are both evidence-based approaches that have been shown to be effective in helping people across a wide range of difficulties develop skills to get unstuck and move toward what matters most while navigating life’s challenges with greater flexibility and effectiveness.
A well-lived life isn’t defined by the absence of pain, but by the presence of meaningfully connecting with what matters most to you. Many people have either lost touch with what truly matters to them or never had the opportunity to fully explore this in the first place. Rather than focusing solely on what people don’t want in their lives, I help people reorient to what they do want their lives to be about. I create a space where you can discover or reconnect with what matters most to you and move toward those meaningful aspects of life, even when challenges arise.
Time-Limited Approach
As a licensed psychologist with over 25 years of experience, I believe therapy is a significant investment of your time, resources, and energy. Both scientific data and my clinical experience show that most people experience their largest gains relatively early in therapy, often within the first few months.
To help you make the most of your investment, I work in a focused, time-limited model of up to 12 sessions centered on a particular struggle, issue, or theme. This approach allows us to dive deeply into making important changes in your life with clear direction and purpose.
The expectation isn’t that everything will be completely figured out by the end of our work together. Rather, the goal is to identify unworkable patterns, develop concrete tools for change, and help you practice incorporating these tools outside of therapy. While this structured approach isn’t ideal for everyone, many find the time-limited nature helpful in creating meaningful momentum for lasting change.
Even within this time-limited framework, I emphasize developing a trusting and supportive therapeutic relationship – one which research shows is essential for effective therapy. Having this established and trusting relationship means that if you decide at a later point that you’d like to return for another piece of work together, we can potentially resume our work together and you don’t need to start over.
My approach is particularly effective for those wanting to:
- Transform relationship patterns that leave you feeling disconnected or misunderstood
- Develop greater intimacy and authenticity in your connections with others
- Heal your relationship with yourself, reducing the influence of shame and self-criticism
- Address concerns related to sexuality, body image, and personal identity
- Navigate complex relationships with greater ease and satisfaction
- Connect with a deeper sense of meaning or purpose
- Process and integrate psychedelic experiences in a safe, supportive environment
Fundamentally, my work is about helping people who are stuck in these patterns reorient to what is most important and, in doing so, create more meaningful, well-lived lives with deeper, more satisfying connections.
Psychedelic Safety and Integration Services
In addition to my regular therapy practice, I have extensive specialized training in psychedelic-assisted therapy, including completing the full MAPS training course and supervised clinical experience. I am also a research therapist here at Portland Psychotherapy and work on various clinical trials investigating the potential effectiveness of MDMA-assisted psychotherapy and psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.
In my outpatient therapy practice, I work with clients who are considering using psychedelics. We can explore ways to both reduce risk and increase potential benefit and likelihood of having a meaningful, positive experience should they decide to have a psychedelic experience. I also work with clients who have used psychedelics, including, but not limited to, through the Oregon Psilocybin Services Program, providing a space for them to process and integrate those experiences into their daily life. Research suggests that this type of harm reduction and integration work can help make the most of these experiences in ways that support lasting positive changes.
Please note, I am unable to help individuals obtain or facilitate illegal use of psychedelic substances in any way.
Things I’ve Written
I’ve included a sample of some of my writings below that I thought give a sense of my interests and who I am…
- “Values in Therapy: A Clinician’s Guide to Helping Clients Explore Values, Increase Psychological Flexibility, and Live a More Meaningful Life” — book I co-authored with Dr. Jason Luoma
- ACT and Body Image Difficulties: Maybe not liking your body isn’t the problem
- Pain and values: two sides of the same coin
- Gender, sexuality, and other things that don’t belong in boxes
- Gratitude – It does a relationship good!
- The ACT Therapist – a poem I wrote with Dr. Jason Luoma
Treatment Approach
Orientation: I practice a type of mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioral therapy called Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). My work tends to be highly relational in nature and developing a strong therapeutic relationship is fundamental to my approach.
Modalities: Individuals
Client Focus
Ages:
18+
Special Populations:
LGBTQIA+ affirming
Kink/Poly/ENM affirming
Qualifications
Co-Founder and President of Portland Psychotherapy
Peer Reviewed Trainer in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Fellow of the Association for Contextual Behavioral Science
Practicing Since: 1997
Degree: Ph.D., Clinical Psychology
Year Graduated: 2002
License Number and State: Licensed Psychologist in Oregon # 1600 and Washington PY61154300
Specialties:
- Relationship difficulties (individual therapy only)
- Intimacy/sexuality concerns
- Personal growth and values clarification
- Body image concerns
- Shame/self-criticism
- Trauma/abuse
- Stress/life transitions
- Psychedelic harm reduction and integration
Financial
Average Cost: $285
Accepted Insurance Plans:
Will bill most insurance plans as an out-of-network provider
How I Can Help:
As the President and Co-Founder of Portland Psychotherapy, it is extremely important to me that we do our best to help all those who reach out to us get connected with quality, science-based mental health services. Finding the right therapist, one with whom you feel comfortable and understands your unique struggle is essential if therapy is going to be helpful. If you have questions or would like to speak with me to see if my work might be a good match for what you are looking for, please feel free to contact me. And if it turns out that I am not best able to meet your needs, I would be very happy to help you find referrals for someone who might be a better match.
Email Address: [email protected]
Phone: 503-281-4852