Portland Therapy Center
Dave Hires

Dave Hires (he/him)

Licensed Professional Counselor

CADC II

Hi! It would be an honor to walk with you toward healing.

Client Status

accepting clients

Contact

6975 SW Sandburg St

Ste 250

Tigard, 97223

Email Website

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $185

Provides free initial consultation

Practicing Since: 2021

Languages: English

Services

  • Individual

Insurances Accepted

  • Out of Pocket
  • Aetna
  • Medicaid
  • MODA

My Ideal Client

I specialize in working with adults impacted by trauma and substance use disorder - if you find yourself stuck in loops of re-experiencing difficult memories or if certain situations cause intense distress in a way that is hard to predict or understand, you might be experiencing symptoms of a trauma response. My training has focused on methods that produce lasting insight and change that "traditional" talk therapy alone can't: specifically, EMDR and Internal Family Systems.

My Background

I graduated with a Master of Arts in Professional Mental Health Counseling—Specialization in Addictions from Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling in Portland in 2021, where I also lived for about twenty years. I specialize in trauma and substance use disorders. I am trained in EMDR, Internal Family Systems, Motivational Interviewing and Flash Technique. I am a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (II). I view things from a trauma-informed, systemic, culturally competent, anti-racist and LGBTQIA+ affirming lens. I am interested in helping you validate what might be a reasonable reaction to an unreasonable system.

My Approach to Helping

If you'd like, we could explore the role of trauma and wounds in your life and work together to gain a sense of safety and agency around these feelings. If you are then interested in deeper work, we could do some processing via EMDR or Internal Family Systems. If your substance use is a concern for you, we could get curious about the needs you are meeting through your use, and whether you would like additional ways to get those needs met. We could work with your grief, working towards ways to remain connected to what you've lost, navigating feelings you're not sure if you're supposed to feel ("I feel sadness - and relief" or "I just feel angry"). Or maybe you're like most people - our trauma, our grief, our tendencies toward compulsive or addictive behaviors - are all interwoven. We can work on that too, at your pace.

Techniques I Use

Specialties

  • EMDR External link

    EMDR is a process that works on a neurological level - while talking is a part of it, the healing is largely happening beyond the verbal level. It is perfect for anyone who anyone who has experienced the phenomenon of "I know that I am safe, that it's over - but my body doesn't believe me". EMDR helps your body "believe" - which is to say, integrating our verbal / narrative memory, with our sensory / somatic memory.

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS) External link

    Often people I work with describe experiencing an intense internal conflict. They feel angry towards someone, but they also feel like they shouldn't feel angry. They want to stop engaging with a certain behavior / person but they continue to do it anyway. In reality, both "parts" have validity. Leaning into these experiences, even the unpleasant ones, and building relationships between these parts of you can earn a deep peace and knowing.

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • PTSD External link

    Unhealed wounds can seep into your day-to-day in a way that feels out of control, e.g. lashing out, anxiety, self-loathing, substance use, numbness. I am a Certified Clinical Trauma professional, and in my training I've learned that "safety is the intervention" - that is, we will gently explore what trauma even means, how it shows up in your life now, and how to move towards healing, but only at a pace that feels safe - right on the edge of discomfort, with lots of time for breaks.

  • Drug Dependence / Abuse / Addiction External link

    I am a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (II) and I am happy to walk with you as we identify the role substance use is playing in your life, the valid needs it is meeting, the weight of negative consequences you experience along the way, and, taken together, what the value of seeking change might be. I hold a non-pathologizing, trauma-informed view of substance use - it is, like many "problem" behaviors - a solution, a way we survive, but maybe you feel ready to do more than survive.

  • Loss or Grief External link

    I am a Certified Advanced Grief Counseling Specialist. I would be happy to walk with you as you courageously navigate this deeply emotional, unavoidably painful experience. At no point will I suggest that grief is "worth it", part of a "plan", but we can work together to honor the whole picture: that the experience of loss is like no other - eviscerating, unyielding - and yet it can also remind us of our capacity to feel loved, embraced, happy, connected, and the value of holding onto that.

Contact Dave

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