Therapy in the Hood River Gorge

Therapy to change how you relate to the world

Therapy to change how you relate to the world

Therapy Services

 

 

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

Mettā Therapy LLC

EXPERIENTIAL

While 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 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

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

Mindfulness 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 here?

Let me know how to help.

 

Sometimes coming to therapy 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 therapy, I can help you change the way you relate to your life and those around you.

Start 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.

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How much do you charge?

 

Individuals: 50-minutes $100-$125

Couples: 80-minutes $150-$175

 

Do you bill insurance?

 

No. If you are in financial hardship, I offer a sliding-scale payment option based on income. My belief is that if we are the right fit for therapy, and cost alone would otherwise deter you from coming, I would rather us work together than not at all. Even at the bottom of the sliding scale, therapy is not free.

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 Zen Buddhism, existential psychotherapy, and body-centered trauma therapy. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor Intern with the State of Oregon. While I accrue my hours for licensure in Oregon, I receive supervision from Lisa Makinson and Selin Strait, both Licensed Professional Counselors in Oregon.

 

What does therapy with me look like?

 

I use a form of therapy 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.

After completing the initial application, you will be contacted shortly to schedule a free, in-person consultation.

Scheduling your appointment

 

After submitting your application, you will be contacted within 2 business days to schedule an in-person consultation. Under normal circumstances, we can typically schedule our first session within 5 business days. You may request that I not leave phone messages for you, or only contact you through a specific phone number or email address.

 

What to expect during your first visit.

 

This introductory meeting is meant to give us both a sense of what it’s like to be with each other. We will explore a little of what you hope to get out of therapy, what you hope for or expect from your therapist, and if you have any fears or concerns about beginning therapy. I will provide some conceptual and experiential information about the kind of work that I do, so hopefully you will know exactly what to expect from our work together. It turns out that the therapeutic relationship is one of the most important factors of change, so together, we will want to decide if it’s a good fit.