Star Rise Counseling

I am a mental health professional with a master's degree in counseling psychology and over 12 years of counseling experience. I am a licensed provider for residents of the state of Oregon. I have created an integrative approach that recognizes all parts of your life as potentially contributing to who you are, how you think, & how you feel. WHAT IS INTEGRATIVE COUNSELING? Integrative counseling recognizes that there are no lines between the different areas of your life, including the emotional, mental, physical, social, and spiritual. Challenges that show up in emotional and mental health can originate from anywhere in you as a whole "system." Wherever they come from, your greatest and smallest difficulties can be made useful and carry you forward. Integrative counseling uses the past in such ways as identifying past beliefs, processing trauma, and analyzing the chain of actions and events that led to a certain decision or outcome. It uses the future as a guiding vision. It recognizes, too, that your power to be, change, and act is entirely in the present moment. Integrative counseling ultimately focuses you on the point where past and future meet: now. To take inventory of your skills, areas of overdevelopment, and areas to be developed, is to begin finding the balance that can ground you right now. You can be specific with your intent; concrete goals are the easiest to work with. You can also question and wonder about what you want. Being general is more than okay, and a lot of people start there. It's your awareness, and building on it, that helps move you forward. Clearly you care about creating your life consciously, otherwise you wouldn't be here. Integrative counseling brings in any and all of the tools that are appropriate for your situation, to help you use all you've been through, and all you've thought and felt deeply about, in order to achieve what you want. In this approach, we will work with the mental, emotional, physical, and metaphysical ("spiritual") parts of you, so you can begin to act with integrity to move yourself forward one step after another in the direction that is right for you. WHO I WORK WITH I work with individuals over 15, and each potential collaboration is something I consider carefully. I like to have a short, no-cost phone conversation with each person first, to answer any questions and to see if our schedules and such are a match. I have extended training and experience in some areas, such as working with people with anxiety and depression, disordered eating, and childhood trauma, as well as the LGBTQ+ community, people with bicultural or multicultural backgrounds, and anyone experiencing a life transition. For those 55 and older, I'd like to invite you to see https://www.caring.com/senior-living/assisted-living/options-for-seniors-with-mental-health-conditions/ - a comprehensive guide that delves into prevalent mental health conditions among seniors and explores the available options for supportive housing and care. MY BACKGROUND IN SERVICE My parents came from service fields: my mother was a nursing teacher and my father a psychology professor and military veteran. I've spent most of my professional life in service to others, adding my voice to that of those most in need of being heard. Among other places lesser known, I've worked for: the Boys and Girls Club YWCA Lutheran Social Service Minnesota state Housing Finance Agency for supportive housing ​My work has included: * 10+ years in non-profit organizations * 5+ years focus on LGBTQ+ community * 5 years working in/with homeless shelters, serving unhoused and formerly unhoused families and individuals * Working with people with serious persistent mental illness in their homes to increase their stability and community * Coordinating volunteers and donations in programs assisting formerly unhoused families and individuals (paid and volunteer) * Teaching and tutoring English as a second language (paid and volunteer) * Work with raising funds to send rural Cambodian youth, primarily young women, to college (paid and volunteer) And my time and work continues to be dedicated to service of the underserved, including people and our beloved animal companions. "Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does.” ~ William James