Therapists for college students near Portland State University
The human experience presents unique challenges, opportunities, victories, and struggles for us all; we experience life and our feelings on various spectrums in shared systems: Sometimes the universal feelings of sadness become clinical depression. Sometimes the universal feeling of nervousness can become clinical anxiety. We describe difficulties in processing life events in terms of trauma. We look at compounding impact of transitions as stress. Therapy presents a unique opportunity to join with a trained helper in a safe environment for growth, healing, and change: both in feeling differently and exploring life changes. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor who relies upon the experiential approaches of Gestalt Therapy and story-shaping techniques of narrative therapy. I regularly incorporate the techniques from evidenced-based interventions in cognitive-behavioral therapy, person-centered therapy, and solution-focused brief therapy in treatment planning and assessment. I encourage you to give therapy a chance - say 3 sessions and consider how you feel about continuing. Let's explore your goals and consider a plan for growth, healing, and change. I will work collaboratively with you in treatment planning, providing regular clinical assessments to gauge your progress, and give you practical homework to make change happen.
Hello! College is a wild ride, full of questions about who you are, where you're headed, and how to juggle all of the changes. I've navigated my share of life's transitions too, so I know how overwhelming it can all feel. As your therapist, I'm here to offer a supportive, compassionate space where you can sort through it all. My approach is warm and collaborative, I'm here to help you gain clarity and confidence as you move through this time of change. I draw from evidence-based approaches, strength-based and trauma-informed care. Together we'll build tools and perspectives that support your growth and well-being.
Hello, I’m Emma (she/they) and I'm glad you're here! I support LGBTQIA+ and neurodivergent clients, and those working through burnout, religious trauma, life transitions, and grief. I especially love working with highly masking folks who are ready to confront burnout and live more authentically! My approach as a counselor is collaborative, trauma-informed, and grounded in curiosity, compassion, and social justice. My hope to create a space where you don’t have to filter or shrink yourself—where we can explore what matters to you, dismantle what doesn’t, and help you feel more at home in your life and body. My style is eclectic and anchored in self-exploration, cultural awareness, and self-compassion. I draw from frameworks like IFS, Feminist, and Existential Therapy that explore how our different parts intersect and how the world around us shapes our reality, values, and relationships. Therapy with me highlights authenticity, compassion, depth and laughter.
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.
I believe that therapy is an investment in oneself, a space to learn about your personal emotions, life patterns, and ways you want to live your life. Everyone deserves to have a non-judgmental individual in their corner! As an old soul, I have a deep well of compassion which I balance with some "real talk" that encourages one to examine their lives. I enjoy working with people throughout the life spectrum.
Understand yourself, grow, and develop capacities for sustainable symptom relief. Mental healthcare is a collaborative effort. Depending on your unique needs, we may focus on how you experience your thoughts, feelings, actions, relationships, identity, and sense of meaning. We also consider available internal and environment supports to facilitate healing; for some this may include the support of medication. You have the capacity for growth and healing. We can help you discover and build pathways toward symptom relief, healthier living, and generally feeling more alive. This can include developing greater freedom from distressing patterns of behavior and choosing new ones as you see fit. We use evidence based practices that focus on the unfolding process of discovery, growth, self-exploration, examining emotional blind spots, and understanding relationship patterns.
I enjoy working with adults of all ages to make sense of transitional moments in their lives, including launching into adulthood, new parenthood, or newly single. I offer grief counseling as a significant portion of my practice as well. It is an honor for me to provide an affirming relationship to which you can bring all the different parts of yourself, and come to know and love them more.
I work with people who feel like they don’t belong. Together, we’ll find ways to reconnect you to your inner strengths and capacities, to community and nourishing relationships, and to the world at large. There’s many reasons people might feel like misfits, weirdos, or exiles. Many of us can’t or won’t fit into our socially proscribed boxes. I have particular experience working with queer and non-binary folks, with people on the autism spectrum, with multiracial and/or bicultural folks, with creatives, innovators, and activists working on the edge of social change, and with survivors of trauma. And I’m open to working with anyone who feels drawn to my approach, so feel free to reach out!
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.
Hi there! My name is Karenna Turley and I’m a board-certified psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP-BC). I want to start by saying congratulations to you for taking this next step. It takes much courage to seek mental health assistance and I am so glad you are here. I work with concerns like anxiety, depression, ADHD, and mood changes that can make school and daily life feel overwhelming. My approach is collaborative and individualized—I take the time to listen, answer questions, and find a treatment plan that fits your goals and your life. My goal is to help you feel more focused, balanced, and supported while navigating college.
We are a client centered organization that employs evidenced based treatments in a caring, safe, and non-judgmental environment.
Hello, my name is Traci Boyle-Galestiantz (she/her). Life, relationships and finding our way can be challenging in 10,000 ways and support with navigating those challenges is something we all need and deserve. I have worked with families and individuals in all stages of life; while working through major or minor transitions, healing from trauma, loneliness, grief and the struggles of personal development. My roles as a social worker have ranged from crisis line counselor, support group facilitator, restraining order advocate, shelter worker, and educator. The theories that most guide my practice are based in a client centered strengths based approach. I am an avid LGBTQ+ ally and care deeply about racial and social justice. I have been a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) since 2007 and deeply appreciate being entrusted with people’s stories, struggles, and triumphs.
I work with students navigating anxiety, relationship struggles, family dynamics, identity questions, and the pressures inherent in being in college like how hard it is to have it all figured out or to transition to new phases of life. My approach is grounded in warmth and honesty, using Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) and Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP) to help you feel seen, supported, and be able to really access your emotions and thoughts with out judgement. I care deeply about this time in your life and believe meaningful change happens when we feel safe enough to be ourselves, even the messy parts.
You might be feeling stuck, overwhelmed by emotions, or unsure how to move forward. Maybe you’re navigating anxiety, depression, or the weight of past trauma, and you’re ready to find a way through it. You want to feel more confident, improve your relationships, and better understand yourself. You may be searching for someone who truly listens, helps you make sense of what’s going on, and works with you to create a path toward the life you envision. If this resonates with you, therapy can be a supportive space where we work together to uncover your strengths and achieve the change you’re looking for. I help you navigate anxiety, depression, trauma, and life transitions by creating a space where you feel heard and supported. Together, we’ll uncover your strengths, explore what’s holding you back, and work toward meaningful change with tools and strategies tailored to your needs. Let’s work together to help you build the life you want. Taking the step to seek therapy can feel uncertain. I’m here to help you explore your emotions and experiences without judgment, offering compassion and guidance as you navigate challenges. You don’t have to face this alone—healing and growth are possible, and I’d be honored to support you on this journey. Schedule an appointment with me today.
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.
***Currently serving individuals in California and Oregon*** Hello! My name is Carlota, and I am a social justice advocate; a believer in science; a fierce and overly-obsessed dog mom to two wacky pups; an immigrant; and steadfast in my conviction that we have a fundamental obligation to help one another if we have the means and capacity to do so. I am a licensed clinical social worker, and have been in practice since 2013. I completed my undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley in 2008, and received my Master of Social Work (MSW) in 2013 from the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. I embrace evidence-based and research-supported therapies, while also honoring the power of the therapeutic relationship and process. I specialize in trauma and PTSD, depression, Bipolar Disorder, anxiety and panic, grief and loss, interpersonal difficulties, and life transitions. I am a trained teacher of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and am certified in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD and Interpersonal Psychotherapy for Depression (IPT-D). I also have extensive training in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy (IPSRT) for Bipolar Disorder, and Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) for the treatment of PTSD in children and teens. Why might I be a good fit for you? Because I get it, and I am whole-heartedly with you on this journey. I know that coming to therapy is a profound undertaking, and that what I will ask of you in this process is not easy. Introspection, change, and confronting avoidance are hard, and so I strive to provide a safe, authentic, and collaborative environment that honors your story, experience, and identity with compassion and without judgment; I strive to be worthy of bearing witness to your story. ***Sirviendo a personas ubicadas en California y Oregón*** ¡Hola! Mi nombre es Carlota, y soy amante de la justicia social; una creyente en la ciencia; una mamá de dos perritos excéntricos; una inmigrante; y firme en mi convicción de que tenemos la obligación de ayudarnos unos a otros si tenemos los medios y la capacidad para hacerlo. Soy una trabajadora social, y he estado en práctica desde 2013. Me gradué de UC Berkeley en el 2008, y recibí mi Maestría en Trabajo Social (MSW) en el 2013 de la Universidad de Washington en San Louis. Acepto las terapias basadas en la evidencia y respaldadas por la investigación, al mismo tiempo que honro el poder de la relación y el proceso terapéutico. Me especializo en trauma, depresión, el trastorno bipolar, ansiedad y pánico, duelo y pérdida, dificultades interpersonales, y transiciones de vida. Soy una maestra capacitada en Reducción del Estrés Basado en Mindfulness (MBSR), y estoy certificada en Terapia de Procesamiento Cognitivo (CPT) para el trastorno de estrés postraumático y Psicoterapia Interpersonal para la Depresión (IPT-D). También tengo una amplia entrenamiento en Terapia Dialéctica Conductual (DBT), Terapia Interpersonal y de Ritmo Social (IPSRT) para el trastorno bipolar, y Terapia Cognitiva Conductual Centrada en el Trauma (TF-CBT) para el tratamiento del trastorno de estrés postraumático en niños y adolescentes. ¿Por qué podría ser una buena opción para ti? Porque pongo todo mi corazón para estar contigo en este viaje. Sé que venir a terapia es una empresa profunda y que lo que te voy a pedir en este proceso no es fácil. La introspección, el cambio, y la confrontación de la evitación son difíciles, y espero proveer un entorno seguro, auténtico, y colaborativo que honre su historia, experiencia, e identidad con compasión y sin juzgar; me esfuerzo por ser digno de ser testigo de tu historia.
Being in college right now is tough. Personal struggles, family issues, and the pressure to keep it all together, plus the chaos of everything going on in the world, it makes sense that you're feeling overwhelmed. If you’re dealing with difficult past experiences, family stress, or just the daily pressure of trying to stay afloat, you don’t have to go through it alone. I specialize in helping people process tough emotions, navigate life transitions, and manage stress in healthy ways. I’ve worked with folks navigating trauma, family dynamics, and anxiety—and I use tools like EMDR and IFS to help you work through what’s weighing you down. Therapy is about giving you the space to deal with what’s hard and find practical ways forward, so you can feel more in control and less stuck. I’m passionate about working with women, gender-expansive individuals, and LGBTQ+ folks. No judgment. Just real, down-to-earth support to help you move forward.
I believe in therapy as a mutual journey of healing and discovery, where both client and therapist grow together. I specialize in working with refugees, immigrants, their first-generation children, and individuals with LGBTQIA2S+ identities. My clients have genuine desire to explore their authentic selves despite having navigated complex trauma, cultural displacement, or identity-based discrimination, they are ready to engage in deep, transformative work towards liberation.
Relationships are vital to our health and well-being, yet few of us have been trained how to foster and maintain healthy ones. I support the development of healthy relationship skills by focusing on emotional expression, relational skill development, and personal empowerment. Rekindling the trust, emotional connection, and playful spark necessary for healthy relationship is a process of establishing mutual goals, building new skills of emotional intelligence and embodied communication while healing old wounds. We are always, already in relationship; whether it is a relationship to another person, place, or oneself, we are in some way connected and affected by our surroundings. As such, it is in relationship that our deepest hurts can take place, and it is also in relationship that our most profound and liberating healing can occur. As a therapist, I work side-by-side with you, and it is in our own relationship together that we explore and uncover your greatest strengths, as well as all the ways you may unconsciously hold yourself back. My specialties include working with adults recovering from trauma experienced as a child or an adult. I enjoy working with individuals who are stuck in relationship patterns and are looking to break these patterns. I have expertise working with college students of all ages and people struggling with life transitions. My office is safe and affirming no matter your race, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, or physical ability.