About Star Rise
The Process of Change
Healing isn’t about perfection — it’s about understanding yourself with compassion while seeing what you want to change.
Life itself is our greatest teacher. Every challenge, feeling, and turning point offers a chance to grow in self-acceptance and clarity.
If you’re looking for a collaborative, supportive space to explore what’s next for you in your process of change, let’s talk.
My Story of the Sun and Moon
I like to think it was a silent snowy night in South Dakota when I was born, and it might even be the case. Let's go with it.
While I am from the Great Plains of North America, full of sunsets and storms and a lot of mosquitos, I was never quite satisfied enough to stay. I am thankful for those feral child and teen years of the 70's-80's that led to me to my adventure West at age 19. I traveled all the way to Eugene, OR, knowing nothing more than its hippie history and regional volcanics. I was ready for any landscape that wasn't flat.
It wasn't long before I found myself in Portland, as one in Oregon may do, getting a tattoo. That's unsurprising. What surprises me is that it was not a whim that led me. The tattooed image of the smiling sun eclipsing the moon had been calling to me for over a year, but I didn't understand why. It took moving to Oregon and visiting the library to run across a book title, The Marriage of the Sun and Moon, by Dr Andrew Weil, MD, to find out all about it.
This book was part of the local library, but when I looked for it, it was checked out and due back any day. This was pre-Internet, folks. I was a poor student to boot, so all I could do was wait. I returned to the library day after day until I saw the librarian in the section I had been recently haunting. I recall standing by that librarian until they produced the beautiful book named after my favorite sun-and-moon symbol. I sat down in a carrel by the window overlooking 13th Avenue, and read. And read.
To say I was mystified would be an understatement. This symbol, which I captured from an album cover no less by a marginally popular 80's band, meant something I found very deep - essentially, integrated and enlightened consciousness. It signified alchemy, magic, and the unity of opposites. It depicted an eclipse, which according to its author was the symbol of a major change in consciousness. The book even had a chapter on Lakota sweat lodge rituals, referencing my home state of South Dakota.
The synchronicities were stacking up, and I was enchanted. As the child of a psychologist and a nurse in a religious family, I think it's safe to say I was primed to look inward. I've been a self-reflecting person ever since I can recall, even curiously noticing my own heartbeat at an early age and holding my breath to see if I had the power to stop it. I still remember dreams from these single-digit ages, and I remember questioning my parents about why all people weren't treated as equals. I watched Obi-wan Kenobi explain the "force," read Stephen King novels, and peered into the darkness through one hand over my eyes, fearful but curious about what was in the unpredictable but fascinating shadows of my bedroom.
Fast forward to my forties and a major life transition: parents gone, and other friends and family dispersed, I went for a bike ride to contemplate the ending of a longstanding chapter in my life: the Star Wars saga. Oh, what a dream to see the final episode launched. It'll sound silly to some but my life kind of flashed before my eyes: from getting my first Chewbacca doll at age four, to wishing the world were full of Jedis, to the lifelong need for Good to finally overpower the Dark Side.
It was then that I decided to embrace endings with the other side of endings: beginnings. I decided right then and there to move to Portland and work for myself in private practice. With that, I would be enacting and living the truth of my whole life and self. I was committed to allow this to become the moment when I rise up finally to meet and trust my inner self. I could be the star of my own life -- the sun in my own sky seeking fulfillment and momentary wholeness, knowing that those "perfect" moments of wholeness are so rare, but so reliable and beautiful.
Mind you, I know I do not live in a galaxy far, far away. and I'm not so naive as to believe that our world is as black and white as that of a science fiction story. Even in the ending saga of my beloved movie series, there was no promise of lasting peace or wholeness. I most admire the courage and ideology of the characters. In real life, what I appreciate more is the symbol of the marriage of the sun and moon, as it best represents my quest of seeking unity, light, wholeness, and an appreciation for the magical fleeting moments of life that must be caught quickly before they're gone.
We may never be so complete as the symbol of the sun and mood suggests. Alchemy is still a philosophy only, or a state of mind. Still, it is a picture worth so much more than a thousand words to me. The symbol seems to represent a finality, but it is not. Its truth happens in passing, with a perfect placement in space and time, and brings a sudden wholeness. It actually turns day into night, unifying opposites for a matter of seconds.
The first time I had the chance to see an eclipse, I was in kindergarten. A classmate's dad came to the school with a telescope and we each got a turn to go out and look at it (thank you, Mr. Eggen!) I remember being warned about staring at the sun, however, and because I am such a literal person, I was too scared to look through the telescope! I regretted that moment for decades and vowed to view the next one, which just happened to be in Oregon, forty years later, in another sublime synchronicity. When I saw that one, I tell you I felt a unique wholeness and magic that will probably never be surpassed.
A minute or two of your life may not sound like much, but it certainly can do a lot, for better or for worse. Usually, we think of our time in life as a vast collection of days, weeks, hours, or minutes. We may spend these in a variety of ways: in love, wonder, appreciation, movement, and awareness; or perhaps in fear, apprehension, avoidance, guilt, immobilization, anger, or regret. These moments all add up, but it is never too late to make a change if you don't like how your time is spent. Within normal human limitations, you can even decide that the next minute or two of your life can be spent differently: with a little more peace, self- acceptance, sense of humor, or self-compassion. Even if it's just a minute or two here and there, those moments all add up.
We all have to start somewhere. How about ... now?
Serving Oregon and Washington
I am a mental health professional with a master's degree in counseling psychology since 2008, practicing in the Pacific Northwest since 2015. I am a licensed provider for residents of the state of Oregon, as well as the state of Washington. I prefer an integrative approach that recognizes all parts of your life (around and inside your self) as potential contributors to who you are, how you think, and how you feel.
WHAT IS INTEGRATIVE COUNSELING?
Integrative counseling is a recognition that you are essentially a system made up of different parts. More than that, there is a lot of overlap between the areas of your life: the emotional, mental, physical, social, and spiritual. Challenges that show up in one part, such as your emotional world, can influence other areas of your life, such as the physical or mental. That could sound overwhelming to some. The good news is that, whenever you recognize a challenge, you can start almost anywhere in the "system" to investigate it and work on changing things for the better. The greatest and smallest challenges alike can be made useful.
When I work with people, we may discuss any time of life: past, present, and future. They all show up eventually. We can use the past in such ways as identifying when beliefs were formed, recalling traumatic events, and reviewing chains of action that led to certain outcomes. When I first meet with people, we most often start with the present moment, because that is the easiest way to identify problems and goals for change. We also use a discussion of your desired future as a guiding vision, which may include things you do and don't want. Ultimately, we will bring it all together into the present moment, where all the action toward change takes place.
In working on desired change, I want to be specific with your intent, because concrete goals are the easiest to create and realize. You may not know for sure right away what those concrete goals are, but rather you can bring an idea of a general direction where you want to go, even if it is just a feeling you want to have. From there, we'll take an inventory of all of the tools that are already at your disposal. After all, you've gotten yourself this far, right? How did you do that? I want to be there to help you recognize the successes you've already achieved, despite all you've been through. This is a very important part of the process of change and healing.
Where we go from there may include a mix of modalities or tools: cognitive, behavioral, mindfulness-based, Jungian/symbolic, Buddhist, narrative, trauma processing (e.g. EMDR), transpersonal (social or involving others), and existential.
For those at least 21 years of age with a special interest in cutting edge therapy, integrative therapy can also mean working with the material that came up after you had a psychedelic experience. Oregon happens to be a leader in the nation on psilocybin-assisted therapy because we have a legal program for adult supported use of this substance. Integration comes after you've made the decision to explore with psilocybin and arranged an experience to do so outside of traditional therapy with me.
WHO I WORK WITH
I work with individuals age 14 and over. 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, trauma, disordered eating, the rainbow of people in the LGBTQ+ community, people with bicultural or multicultural backgrounds, and adults age 21+ who have used psychedelics for therapeutic reasons. I don't have expertise in all areas that therapy can possibly cover, so there will be certain cases in which I'm ethically required to refer you onward to someone who does. These include, among other things, addiction and couples/family therapy.
For those 55 and older, I've been asked to invite you to visit THIS LINK - 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 was a psychology professor and military veteran of WWII. 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:
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The Boys and Girls Club
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YWCA
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Lutheran Social Service
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Minnesota Housing Finance Agency for mental health supportive housing
My work has included:
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14 years in non-profit organizations
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The creation and leadership of my own educational non-profit
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8+ years focus on LGBTQ+ community
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5 years working in/with homeless shelters, serving unhoused and formerly unhoused families and individuals
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Knowledge of serious & persistent mental illness and practice serving people in their homes
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Coordinating volunteers and donations in programs assisting formerly unhoused families and individuals (paid and volunteer)
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Teaching and tutoring English as a second language (paid and volunteer)
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Raising funds to send rural Cambodian girls and women to college (paid and volunteer)
And my time and work continues to be dedicated to service of the underserved, which includes people but also our beloved animal companions and friends.