Portland Therapy Center
Amal Ortiz

Amal Ortiz (she/her)

Clinical Social Work Associate

MSW

I'm a queer, transgender woman and trauma therapist working from a psychoanalytic lens with individuals and couples.

Client Status

waitlist

Contact

9713091780

Portland, 97214

Email Website Schedule Now

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $150-$225

Provides free initial consultation

Languages: English

Services

  • Individual
  • Family
  • Relationship

Insurances Accepted

  • Out of Pocket
  • First Choice Health
  • MODA
  • OHP CareOregon/HealthShare
  • Optum
  • PacificSource
Show More

My Ideal Client

I work with individuals and partners carrying trauma, identity wounds, relational pain, or the exhaustion of surviving in systems that were not built for them. Many of my clients are queer, trans, or have felt unseen in traditional therapy. My work is not manualized or homework-driven. I’m a good fit for people who have often done more structured therapy and are ready to go deeper: to understand patterns, repair old wounds, and integrate trauma in a way that feels honest, embodied, and real.

My Approach to Helping

Clients tend to experience me as warm, direct, honest, and deeply engaged. My approach is not passive or manualized. I work well with people who have often tried more structured therapy and are ready to go deeper into the patterns, wounds, identities, and relational dynamics that shape their lives. I use somatic inquiry, parts work, psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and liberation psychology as my primary frameworks. This means we pay attention to the body, the unconscious, the nervous system, early relationships, systems of oppression, and the parts of you that learned how to survive. I specialize in trauma, complex PTSD, gender and identity, queer and trans experiences, psychedelic integration, relationship wounds, and intergenerational healing.

Why I am a Good Fit for You

I became a therapist because I have always been most interested in what lives beneath the surface: beneath the symptoms, the coping, the conflict, the shame, and the stories people were handed about who they are allowed to be. I’m a good fit for clients who want a therapist who is deeply compassionate, but not passive. My work is shaped by my values as a queer and transgender clinician, my commitment to anti-oppressive care, and my belief that healing is not just about feeling “better,” but becoming more free. I bring honesty, warmth, humor, and depth into the room. I will not reduce you to a diagnosis or a set of symptoms. I will meet you as a whole person with a history, a body, a culture, a nervous system, and a future worth fighting for.

Techniques I Use

Specialties

  • Psychoanalytic  External link

    I am in a multi-year psychoanalytic psychotherapy training. Using a psychoanalytic lens, I help clients uncover and understand the unconscious patterns that shape their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

  • Somatic Therapy (Body Centered) External link

    We live in a society that has taught us to leave our bodies, to numb the sensations, and to disconnect from the inherent wisdom found within. Reclaiming your connection to your body and all of its profound wisdom is an act of resistance and protest, and can be helpful in processing trauma, and finding internal resources of strength.

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS) External link

    Parts work is a profound tool to help us understand our inner landscape, make sense of overwhelming feelings or thoughts, and create harmony when our internal world gets too loud.

Issues I Treat

Contact Amal

Optional note (300 character limit). Please do not include sensitive medical information.