COUPLES THERAPY

I help couples and partners in monogamous and polyamorous relationships develop a secure base and a stronger sense of attachment. I can help you to work through betrayals, increase intimacy, or simply improve communication and connection. I’m experienced with helping couples explore ethical nonmonogamy as well, if you’re thinking of opening up your relationship. I draw from a wealth of experience including premarital counseling; discernment counseling; and I am a therapeutic ally for helping LGBTQ+ relationships heal, grow, and thrive.

FAMILY THERAPY

I also enjoy working with families through an emotionally-focused framework to support parents through challenging life transitions; helping adolescent and adult children resolve differences; and work with siblings to repair conflicts. I’ve worked with blended families and helped new parents adjust to life after a baby arrives.

INDIVIDUAL THERAPY

With my individual clients, I work from an integrated emotionally-focused and psychodynamic approach, helping clients work through depression, anxiety, trauma, grief and loss, as well as midlife transitions. We’ll work together to remove obstacles to growth; understand how your family of origin has impacted your sense of self; increase your connection with others; and help you to gain resilience as you confront ever greater challenges for a deeper engagement with life.

My Background

For the first twenty years of my career, I was a creative writing professor at universities across the West. Helping students find their voices and tell their stories was a profound privilege that I continue to draw from. After earning advanced degrees in the arts and a doctorate in English, I retrained as a marriage and family therapist to pursue my long-held goal of working as a therapist.

My two decades of experience working as a teacher and advisor have provided me with rich insight into the unique and varied ways that people show up in the world. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, I have lived in Chicago, Tucson, and Denver, and I’ve worked abroad in Turkey, Italy, Slovakia, Spain, Ireland, and South Africa–all of which give me a rich appreciation for working with people from a range of cultural backgrounds.

When I’m not seeing clients, I’m an avid reader, a novelist and poet, and am often in the city with my partner and son, exploring Portland’s bookstores, parks, and coffeeshops, or on a road trip combing the Oregon coastline.