Portland Therapy Center
Chalaina Connors

Chalaina Connors (she/her/hers)

Licensed Professional Counselor

MA, LPC, LMHC

Empowering people to have healthy relationships with themselves, others, and with substances.

Client Status

accepting clients

Contact

503-784-0226

Email Website Schedule Now

At a Glance

Me

Practicing Since: 2007

Languages: English

Services

  • Individual
  • Relationship
  • Teen

Insurances Accepted

  • Aetna
  • First Choice Health
  • Kaiser
  • MODA
  • PacificSource
  • Providence Health Plan
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My Ideal Client

I love helping clients heal from intimate partner violence and sexual assault trauma. I also work primarily with clients in the LGBTQQIA+, BDSM, and polyamorous/non-monogamy types of relationships. In the past few years, after being late diagnosed AuDHD, I now work primarily with neurodiverse individuals, and try to help them navigate living in a neurotypical world. This involves helping them develop sensory safety, identifying sensory triggers, and helping navigate their relationships.

My Approach to Helping

I'm a Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist. I work by helping change your thoughts and your behaviors in order to impact your feelings. Say, for example, that you are depressed. I would work by challenging your negative thoughts, trying to help you identify positive thoughts, help you find the best kind of exercise to help alleviate the depression, and help deal with the avoidance and lack of motivation. When I work with trauma, I help clients tell the story of their past, and help their bodies let go of the traumatic memories. It is a very effective tool for helping people heal from trauma. I'm a direct therapist; I really struggle with non-direct forms of therapy. I give out homework, since I know that practicing the skills will make for sustainable change.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

I'm a late diagnosed AuDHD, asexual, and cisgendered female. I am really passionate about helping marginalized groups and providing accessible care. I love helping people in my communities (BDSM, LGBTQQIA+, polyamorous/non-monogamy, and EDM/Raver/Burner), because I see firsthand how many people are struggling. I also know the stigma and judgment that a lot of these communities experience, and I want to be someone safe that they can come to for support. I also have been a harm reductionist my entire adult life. I volunteered with DanceSafe for over 25 years, was a volunteer with the emergency services department at Burning Man, and was also a green dot ranger for a few years. I believe that everyone could use substances in a healthy way, as long as they stop using them as a coping mechanism.

Techniques I Use

Specialties

  • Prolonged Exposure (PE) Therapy External link

    I've been doing PE for over 19 years and it's my favorite method of helping people heal from their past trauma.

  • Cognitive Behavioral (CBT) External link

    I've been a cognitive-behavioral therapist since 2007. I love how CBT therapy is like open source software, because you can easily find all the techniques and worksheets online, and don't have to pay obscene amounts of money to learn this approach. It's also the most evidenced based approach for helping lots of conditions.

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • Polyamorous and Open Relationships External link

    I have been working with polyamorous/open relationships for 18 years. I also identify as polyamorous. I just want everyone to have healthy relationships, and that means having a relationship that works best for you. I do not prescribe to any "shoulds" or expectations about the kinds of open relationships that people want. I know we are all different, and we all deserve to have a relationship that works for us.

  • Domestic Abuse External link

    Here are the highlights of what I do when working with people about relationship issues: -Psycho-education about healthy versus unhealthy/abusive relationships -Working only with survivors/victims of unhealthy/abusive relationships -Communication and listening skills -Conflict resolution/deescalation skills -Safety planning for leaving an abusive relationship -Building intimacy and trust with new relationships

  • Anxiety External link

    Here are some of the ways I help people suffering from anxiety: -Treating symptoms by helping regulate the sympathetic nervous system -Building up people’s self-esteems/feelings of self worth -Teaching healthy coping skills -Stress and time management skills -Teaching clients to face their fears so anxiety doesn't keep running their life

Contact Chalaina

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