Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Healing begins when you feel safe enough to start.
I have forty years of experience listening carefully and sitting with what’s hard. Together, at your pace, we’ll find steadier ground — with curiosity, warmth, and no judgment.
“You don’t have to have the words yet. You just have to begin.”A collaborative, affirming space
A warm welcome
Sometimes the bravest thing is simply reaching out.
Whatever brought you here — a heaviness that won’t lift, a relationship that feels stuck, or a chapter of life that’s asking more of you than you expected — you don’t have to carry it alone.
Over four decades, I’ve sat with people through grief, trauma, and the quiet, ordinary struggles in between. What I’ve learned is that real change rarely comes from advice. It comes from being truly heard, in a space that feels safe enough to be honest.
I work collaboratively and without judgment. We go at your pace. And we stay curious together about what’s really going on underneath.
— Shirley
Services I Provide
Some of the areas I commonly help clients with include:
Anxiety and chronic stress | Depression and mood-related concerns | Trauma and PTSD
Relationship and communication difficulties | Grief and loss | Life transitions and adjustment issues
Work stress and burnout | Chronic illness and caregiver stress | Self-esteem and identity concerns
Emotional regulation difficulties | Couples and family conflict | Boundaries and codependency
Neurodivergence-related challenges | LGBTQ+ related support and affirming care
Some of the approaches and modalities I incorporate into my work include:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Trauma-Informed Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Relational Therapy
Attachment-Based Approaches
Strengths-Based Therapy
Psychoeducation and Skills Building
Person-Centered Therapy
I have extensive experience working with a wide range of mental health concerns and life challenges across many stages of adulthood and relationships. My approach is compassionate, collaborative, and grounded in both professional expertise and decades of real-life experience. I strive to create a supportive, nonjudgmental environment where clients feel safe, respected, and understood.
I am LGBTQ+ affirming and neurodivergent-friendly, and I welcome clients of all identities, backgrounds, relationship structures, and lived experiences. I have experience working with individuals navigating ADHD, autism spectrum differences, sensory sensitivities, identity exploration, masking, burnout, and the unique challenges that can arise when feeling misunderstood or unsupported by traditional systems.
My therapeutic style is warm, relational, and tailored to the individual needs of each client. I believe therapy works best when clients feel genuinely seen, heard, and respected.
Fees and Insurance
60-Minute Session
200
90-Minute Session
250
I provide services exclusively through secure, HIPAA-compliant teletherapy, allowing clients throughout Oregon to access therapy from the comfort and privacy of their own homes.
INSURANCE BILLING
After careful consideration, I made the decision to discontinue participation in insurance contracts effective September 1, 2017.
It is very important to me that the way I conduct my practice remains consistent with my personal values, professional ethics, and the standards established by my licensing board and the National Association of Social Workers.
Over the years, I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the limitations that insurance companies often place on mental health treatment. Like many medical and mental health professionals, I found myself faced with a difficult choice: either assign diagnoses and medical necessity labels in ways that did not always fully reflect a client’s situation, or turn away individuals and couples seeking support for concerns that insurance companies simply do not cover. I believe therapy should focus on helping people heal, grow, and improve their quality of life — not on fitting human experiences into narrowly defined insurance categories.
Read my full statement and learn more about the risks of billing insurance for therapy here
My Video Course
Couples Communication 101
If I could hand people one thing to improve the communication in their relationships, it would be this course. This is a condensed version of all of the skills I’ve taught clients over the course of the last 30+ years.