Kelsey is a licensed professional counselor in Southeast Portland specializing in helping clients navigate anxiety, reconnect with their bodies, and navigate the world through a LGBTQ+ lens.
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Hello and welcome! I’m Kelsey (she/her/hers), and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor, Clinical Supervisor, consultant, and educator based in Southeast Portland. I’m here to walk with you on the path of being human. My professional journey has led me to work in a variety of settings including a college counseling center, a psychiatric hospital emergency room, a therapeutic horticulture program, a mindfulness-based therapy collaborative, and, most recently, a healing center dedicated to serving trans people of color in eastern North Carolina. I also spent one year working on a PhD before deciding that full-time academia was not making my heart sing and returned to clinical practice and consultation work.
My primary areas of clinical focus these days include navigating anxiety, healing relationships with food and the body, and life and relationship transitions. I also work extensively with those employed in healthcare settings including nurses, doctors, physical therapists, nurse practitioners, and mental health providers. As a provider myself and the wife of a seasoned hospital nurse, I am passionate about supporting healthcare workers and have an understanding of the complexity of these environments. As a member of the queer community, I work with many LGBTQ+ identified individuals and aim to create a safe container for those who are questioning their sexual and gender identities. I also support those healing from religious trauma and clients looking to redefine their relationships with their bodies and sexual intimacy as they work to unlearn conditioning around purity culture.
In addition to providing individual therapy services, you can find me working as a consultant and adjunct counseling faculty. I provide support and trainings to healthcare and community organizations that are committed to making their practices and policies more accepting and welcoming to diverse bodies. I also am an adjunct faculty member at the Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling where I teach Fat Studies in the Eating Disorder Certificate Program and various courses in the Professional Mental Health Counseling program through the Department of Counseling Psychology.
I am currently in the process of training Tilly, a 7-month-old cavapoo to be a therapy dog. She comes from the office from time to time for socialization practice. She is hypoallergenic and is the best girl.
When I’m not working, you can find me digging in my garden, volunteering with the Bird Alliance of Oregon Backyard Habitat program, cooking, backpacking, meditating, reading, and listening to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors album on repeat.
TRAINING & APPROACH
I received both my Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Master of Arts in Professional Mental Health Counseling from Lewis & Clark College here in Portland. Additionally, I completed some doctoral study at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro where my research focused on integrating body liberation practices into counselor training programs. I am a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor and completed my training under the author of Intuitive Eating, Evelyn Tribole.
My approach to counseling is a relational one where we will work collaboratively to determine what is getting in the way of you feeling well and whole. I utilize Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in my work with clients and appreciate the way it focuses on clarifying our values and utilizing an attitude of mindfulness to take steps towards what matters most to us.
I also have training in the following approaches:
· Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
· Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
· Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
· Ecopsychology
· Mindfulness, meditation, and somatic approaches
All of my work with clients is situated within an understanding that systems of oppression impact mental health. I believe that the role of therapy is not to help clients adjust to their oppression but rather to collaboratively build up resources to challenge systems that routinely cause harm to groups and individuals.
If spirituality is important to you, I am happy to incorporate those values into our work together.
It is an honor for me to do this work and I look forward to connecting with you.
