Depth-oriented therapy for thoughtful adults who understand a great deal about themselves—and still feel caught in familiar emotional or relational patterns.
You may already know where your patterns came from. You may have learned useful coping skills, read the books, or been in therapy before. And yet insight alone has not changed what happens when shame takes over, relationships become uncertain, grief returns, or old defenses quietly organize your life.
My work is designed for people who want more than symptom management. Together, we pay close attention to what is happening emotionally and relationally in the present so that change becomes something you experience, not only something you understand.
The therapeutic relationship is not merely the setting for the work; it is part of how healing happens. We build enough safety to approach experiences that have previously felt too overwhelming, shameful, or lonely to hold.
We work with emotion as it emerges in the session. Rather than relying primarily on homework or advice, we create new emotional and relational experiences that can loosen established patterns.
We attend to developmental patterns, defenses, unconscious expectations, and the stories you learned to live inside. The aim is not to eliminate defenses by force, but to understand what they protected and develop greater freedom.
My approach integrates attachment theory, relational psychodynamic therapy, experiential work, AEDP, and ACT, informed by contemporary research on emotion, memory, relationship, and change.
Sessions are collaborative, emotionally engaged, and paced with care. I will listen closely, ask direct questions, notice patterns unfolding between us, and help you stay with experiences that might otherwise be minimized, intellectualized, or avoided. You remain the authority on your life; my role is to help us see more clearly and work more deeply.
I generally meet with psychotherapy clients weekly because continuity supports the kind of relational and experiential work I offer. Sessions are available in person in Portland and by telehealth for clients who are physically located in Oregon.
You do not need to know exactly what kind of therapy you need before reaching out. A free 15-minute consultation gives us a chance to discuss what is bringing you in, answer questions, and consider whether working together feels right.