Therapists for college students near Portland, OR
College is an exciting time, but it can also be overwhelming. If you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, relationship problems, or feeling weighed down by obsessive thoughts, you’re not alone. I’m Dr. Kate Degenhardt, a psychologist specializing in helping college students manage the most common mental health challenges. Whether you’re navigating academic stress, social anxiety, relationship struggles, or adjusting to new environments, I’m here to offer practical, evidence-based support. We’ll work together to build healthy coping strategies, improve your mood, and help you find balance, so you can feel more confident and in control of your life. You deserve to thrive during your college years, and I'm here to help make that happen.
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It is my belief that deeply understanding yourself and being deeply understood go hand-in-hand with healing. In our work together, I will support you in exploring your inner world, your relationships, and your history. I am guided by psychodynamic theory, while also being relational in my approach. This means that I aim to be spacious enough for you to vulnerably and bravely explore, and relational enough for you to feel safe to do-so. The people I work with often struggle with self-esteem, relationships, identity, communication, depression, and anxiety. No matter the concern you bring, we will work together to make sense of what is going on for you, and move you toward feeling better. I am able to work with you via Telehealth in Oregon and Washington, and in-person at my office on NE Alberta in Portland.
Modern Outlook LLC owned by Demetrio Sanchez, LCSW, founded in 2017, has teamed up with Restore Therapy LLC to provide in-person and virtual mental health and performance coaching to local athletes in the Pacific Northwest and nationally. Driven out of their own experiences of being collegiate athletes and then later acquiring training as mental health professionals, it became obvious that there was a need for mental health support specific to athletes. The partnership aims to meet that need. Modern Outlook has developed the niche of performance-focused mental health services over the course of serving a range of competitive athletes in every sport.
I see therapy as a place for people to be deeply understood and gently challenged to take action on what they value most. I use a collaborative, strengths-based approach to support what is already working for you, including your innate resilience and knowledge, while also targeting areas of struggle. I recognize that healing and change happen in the context of genuine, consistent, and intentional relationships, and strive to bring these things into therapy along with techniques from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. I also deeply value feminist, queer, and liberation psychologies and draw upon these wisdoms to explore the struggle of being human from a social justice lens. Relatedly, my understanding of systems of oppression, and therefore my orientation to therapeutic practice, are informed by my identities as a White, Jewish, pansexual cisgender woman.
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I work with people in transition or who are preparing for change. Artists, actors and writers. Those in bereavement. Or who are living with a catastrophic health-related diagnosis, recent or of long duration. Caregivers. Mental health interns who need to explore their own issues in order to practice mindfully. Folks who are using substances more than they want. People who want to decrease their distress but who also have a curiosity about its sources. People who want to talk with someone about the most important thing in the world, perhaps to discover what that is. My specialty is the intuitive analysis of what is most important to you. My experience has shown me that we carry within us the answers we're looking for. My skill is in eliciting these answers and reflecting them back to you so you recognize them. I've been trained in Depth psychology, Narrative psychology and Cognitive Behavior therapy, in dream analysis and evidence-based practices like Seeking Safety. In addition to private practice I've directed multiple community mental health and recovery programs, as well as provided training and clinical supervision to new therapists.
I use relationship building as the foundation of my therapy practice. I believe feeling seen, held, and safe are vital components of being able to grow. My hope is to create an atmosphere where the people I meet with feel met and known which will allow us to walk together through vulnerability. With all my clients I take a Neurobiological approach, which is a fancy way to say I think a lot about nervous systems and how to regulate them. Our nervous systems need co-regulation before they can learn to self-regulate. Together we will explore what feels soothing to your particular system and build strategies from there. I pull Internal Family Systems (IFS) or parts work and Narrative Therapy techniques. My style is client centered, collaborative, affirming, and trauma informed.
Hello, my name is Sarah Nelson (she/her/hers), I come to my work as a therapist holding tight to the knowledge that all people want to live meaningful lives with deep loving connection to others. Perhaps you are feeling a loss of meaning, a loss of connection, or are in the midst of a life transition and that has led you here. Whatever has led you to seek therapy, I am glad you are here and I welcome you as you are, as you were, and as you would like to be. I approach my work with a desire to connect and to understand, to hold hope, and to guide towards insight. As a counseling psychologist I am trained to work with a wide variety of presenting concerns and within many modalities. My approach to therapy is rooted in warmth and connection and you: who you are, where you come from, and what is meaningful to you. Our work together will be deep and relational. Within this person-centered approach I bring attention to early attachment and current relationships through the lens of feminist liberation psychology. This lens means that I see your context on a historical, local, and cultural scale as inextricable from your current mental health. INDIVIDUAL THERAPY: I provide person-centered, holistic, and contextualized individual counseling that is rooted in attachment, connection, liberation and social justice. I am trained to work with a variety of concerns and using a variety of modalities and most often work with: anxiety, depression, identity development and transitions, grief and loss, relationship concerns, sleep concerns, transgender mental health, sexuality, and existential concerns. COUNSELING FOR TRANSITIONS: The transitions into and out of college and into and out of careers and jobs are frequently moments of fear and anxiety. These transitions can also be seasons of growth in self-understanding and moments for powerful shifts in identity. I have specialized training in career and academic counseling as well as business consultation and leadership development. I offer person-centered, compassionate, and contextualized therapy for these seasons of transformation, whether you are: transitioning from college, moving between jobs, reentering the job-market after family leave, longing for a more balanced work and home life, or developing your ability to lead. PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT: I offer psychosocial affirming evaluations for gender affirming and confirming surgeries and interventions following the WPATH standards of care guidelines. I am able to provide these assessments and letters of support to any resident of Oregon. I am committed to making such assessments accessible. PERINATAL AND PARENTING SUPPORT: The seasons of pregnancy and parenthood are marked by layered, sacred, and complex transitions and changes in identity and relationships. I offer inclusive, holistic, and holding therapy for individuals who are trying to get pregnant, are pregnant, have experienced pregnancy loss or fertility concerns, abortion, miscarriage, or for those who are transitioning to parenthood or have parenting concerns. I am particularly interested in helping individuals build intentional parenting patterns through better understanding of their own relationships and mental health. I have specialized training in life-span development, particularly in prenatal and postpartum counseling and in parenting.
Have you been longing for a more fulfilling, meaningful life? If you are feeling paralyzed or trapped by worry or sadness, you may benefit from an in-depth psychotherapy approach that allows you to break old patterns and grow into a deeper understanding of yourself. I offer online (video-based) therapy to treat trauma, grief/loss, anxiety, and depression. I use CBT and Mindfulness based techniques in my work, but the foundation of my therapeutic approach is from an Existential Therapy perspective, which allows us to slow down and look closely at your current experience so that together we can shape the future you want to have. I feel honored to be a part of helping people grow, fulfill their potential, and thrive in areas that correspond to their values. I have lived in several countries and speak English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Both as a therapist and professor, I have served individuals of many cultures as well as marginalized populations which informs my practice & worldview. If you are invested in personal growth toward a life of purpose, I invite you to contact me or visit my website to learn more about how you can find healing & meaning in your life. Take that step and schedule a free consultation!
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.
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.
The world is a tumultuous place right now and therapy can be a helpful tool for navigating the difficulties. I work with clients with a wide variety of concerns including depression, anxiety, ADHD, low esteem, perfectionism, difficulty with boundaries and communication, and trauma. Therapy can be a helpful tool for working through difficulties as well as getting to know ourselves better. I believe we all have the capacity to heal, face the challenges in our lives, and find joy & ease.
We all experience times in our lives when we feel stuck, disconnected, or out of balance. I strive to create an environment where couples, individuals, and families feel supported and heard. I invite you to deepen your understanding of yourself and your relationships through my experiential, attachment-based approach.
Are you seeking therapy to better understand yourself—how you think, feel, and move through the world? How you relate to the world, and yourself? Are you curious about the deeper, more elusive questions that live beneath the surface? Are you navigating breaking generational cycles, processing sudden life shifts, grief, trauma, anxiety, or depression? I’m here to support you. We are the cartographers of our inner world—and therapy is the mapmaking. My role is to walk beside you in that discovery, offering a collaborative pace where every part of you is welcome. Grounded in evidence-based practices, and guided by warmth, humor, and deep respect, I create a safe, gently challenging environment where real healing and transformation can begin. Since 2022, I’ve supported individuals from all walks of life in Oregon and Washington through telehealth therapy. Therapy offers relief. It lightens the burden of carrying it all alone—and makes space for clarity, possibility, and change.
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My clients struggle like you do. Despite being intelligent, kind, and creative, life is hard. When we first begin therapy, my clients feel like their relationships are lacking. They’re having issues with family, friends, and partners. They wonder why they keep having the same experiences in relationships, and what they can do about it. They wish they knew why things keep playing out in the same way. They feel like they’re not good enough, and that it’s their fault. All too often, they blame themselves for the struggles that they’re experiencing. Their self-criticism and relationship challenges get in the way of the life they want in so many ways. They feel like they’re failing at being an adult, and their confidence at work or school is suffering. Before they came to see me, my clients weren’t sure if they were ready for therapy. They worried that they might not feel safe opening up. They were pretty certain that they couldn’t be helped, but keeping it all inside was feeling like too much to bear. Like my clients, you deserve to feel good about yourself and your relationships.
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.