Counseling in the Hood River Gorge

Counseling to change how you relate to the world

Counseling Services

 

 

I provide counseling to individuals and couples in Hood River and the greater Columbia River Gorge.

Mettā Therapy LLC

EXPERIENTIAL

While in counseling it can be helpful to talk about our lives, it is easy to continue using our heads to avoid the discomfort that arises in our present experience. Rather than talking about it over and over, I encourage an experiential approach in counseling to understanding your life, to include your emotions, your thoughts, and your beliefs about the world as it happens inside and out.

Mettā Therapy LLC

BODY-CENTERED COUNSELING

In the counseling session, it's not about what's happening ``out there``. It's about what's happening ``in here``. For every external event that arises outside of our own mind and body, there is a dependent internal response within our mind-body. Most of our habitual patterns are an attempt to remove or alter the world around us, as we think this will remove the discomfort that arises within. We have within us the ultimate power to change how we relate to what happens around us. The key to this change begins with a sense of mastery of our own body.

Mettā Therapy LLC

MINDFULNESS-BASED COUNSELING

Mindfulness in counseling is the technique we use to take a good look at the way things really are. It is developing the skill to watch our own repeated patterns of thoughts and fantasies about how things are supposed to be, and then being truthful about how life actually is. Mindfulness is the courage to be with this realization that our lives aren't what we want them to be, and the fearlessness to live more fully in all that we are, including all the beauty and pain.

What is it that brought you to counseling?

Let me know how to help.

 

Sometimes coming to counseling is the easiest thing you’ve done in a long time. Yet for some, it can be a difficult choice to make. There is a common misunderstanding in our society that we are supposed to be fully-grown, independent, infinitely-capable people that don’t ask for help. That we are all-powerful, and that feelings, emotions, and otherwise self-knowledge is a waste of time. And yet here we are. When we look into our own hearts, we find a burning desire to be vulnerable, to be seen fully, in all that we are, and to rediscover our own basic goodness and well-being.

 

Another common misunderstanding we all share is that the best way to live is to avoid pain and just get comfortable. We even go to the extreme of thinking there is a version of life that doesn’t have any pain or discomfort at all. While I can’t help with any of that, I can help you to live with more ease, acceptance, and resilience in moments of difficulty.

 

In counseling, I can help you change the way you relate to your life and those around you.

Start Counseling With Me Here

I am here to help! To get started, begin by completing this application.

The more information you can provide, the better. All personal details sent using modern encryption standards, and I am obligated by law to not share any personal information without your consent. Paper applications and intake forms are also available for download if you prefer. You may fill those out and bring them to your first appointment.

What qualifications do you have?

 

I received a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Naropa University — a Buddhist contemplative school in Boulder, Colorado. I have received additional training and education in the Hakomi Method, the Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy (PACT), existential psychotherapy, and body-centered trauma therapy. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor In the state of Oregon, and a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Washington. Learn more about me.

 

What does therapy with me look like?

 

I use a form of counseling that is experiential, body-centered, and mindfulness-based. While it is helpful to talk about your life story, what’s more important is the process that underlies your personal narrative. This is the area that is often most difficult to see, and harbors difficult thoughts and emotions. At times, this form of therapy is very challenging, but I can offer two pieces of assurance: I will never ask you to explore something that I wouldn’t explore in myself, and, I won’t ask you to experience something that I’m not able to sit with in the room.

How much do you charge?

 

Individuals: 50-minutes $150

Couples: 50-minutes $200

 

Do you bill insurance?

 

No, not directly. You can seek reimbursement from your insurance for out-of-network counseling services. It is common to be partially reimbursed for the full amount.