Portland Therapy Center
Ernest Likins

Ernest Likins (he/they)

Marriage and Family Therapist Associate

MA

Supervisor: Erin Mahone, LPC

I’m a somatic relationship therapist/queerdo here to support y’all navigating love, letting go, and liberation in late-stage capitalism.

Client Status

accepting clients

Contact

Portland, 97206

Email Website

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $200

Provides free initial consultation

Practicing Since: 2022

Languages: English

Services

  • Individual
  • Family
  • Group
  • Relationship

Insurances Accepted

  • Out of Pocket
  • Out of Network

My Ideal Client

As a therapist, I see individual, couple & adult family (18+). My clients are LGBTQIA2S+ folks from all backgrounds & abilities who are tired of going in circles with their people or parts -- including partners, colleagues, siblings, parents and even conflicting aspects of one's Self! I believe deeply in the innate human draw towards wellness. In therapy, we focus on removing the barriers to that natural wisdom.

What I Specialize In

As a clinician, I employ Experiential (Somatic, IFS), ETF & Narrative therapies. Many of my clients come to me to work with themes of boundaries & communication, gender exploration & dysphoria, family & developmental transitions, agency & self worth, ecological connection & the many griefs of white supremacy culture, as well as healing from a spiritual perspective. Whatever approach we take, you’ll find our work together reflecting your healing as a part of our collective healing, & your liberation bound together in the struggle for us all to be free. I recognize that we all hold complexities in our navigations & experiences of the world. I approach therapy from an acknowledgement of the both/and of these experiences – that we all bring areas of wisdom & ignorance to the relationships in our lives. Let’s work together to expand your perspective, deepen your belonging, & explore the ground of your precious humanness. I identify as a neurodivergent-affirming provider.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

Prior to becoming a therapist, I taught mindfulness in tech spaces with an emphasis on Diversity Equity and Inclusion. I regularly delivered talks on the reality of white supremacy culture in the workplace. I also enjoyed training large groups of people (upwards of 200, mainly white) to use mindfulness and self-regulation to facilitate long-term engagement in the work of undoing white supremacy in the workplace. I've identified as a community organizer for many years, and have worked with Cascade Aids Project, the Nat'l HIV League, Trans Assistance Project, LGBTQ young folx groups both locally & internationally. I'm also an openly HIV+ clinician, and welcome clients who are PLWHIV or those affected by HIV/AIDS. In my down time I enjoy painting with watercolors, hanging out with my cat Red Bean (a regular Zoom guest), goofing off with friends and moving my body, watching Star Trek reruns, touching moss and admiring old trees, and watching the changing colors of clouds at sunset.

Techniques I Use

Specialties

  • Experiential External link

    My training in Experiential psychotherapy goes back to 2010 when I began my undergraduate study of Somatic psych and recognized the necessity of the mind-body connection in mental healthcare. In sessions I provide contemplative and sensory-driven guided imagery from a neurodivergent-affirming lens.

  • Family Therapy External link

    One of my most beloved avenues of working, as a trained systemic therapist I relish the chance to work with adult families in a multi-generational examination of your experiences. By tracking patterns transmitted through generations, we can better understand the make-up and choices each of us (and our family members) utilized to survive and/or thrive. This is particularly useful for adult children/parental dynamics, especially for those in the LGBTQ+ community.

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • LGBTQ Issues External link

    ◦ Artistic & Activist Collaborators. From visioning eras, co-creation, rupture and conflict; and navigating endings. ◦ Attachment wounds in community: Conflict related to family of origin traumas, reparenting, addiction issues. ◦ Relationship transformations in community: Boundaries & belonging; consequences & cancel culture; liberatory approaches to relationship. ◦ Roommate/Household dynamics: Conflict, communication, and needs of a shared Home.

  • Historical Trauma External link

    ◦ Body-based and liberatory perspectives ◦ Exploration of intergenerational legacies ◦ Roles of power-over systems passed through families: white supremacy culture, imperialism, ableism, classism, homo- and transphobia, misogyny/misogynoir, etc

  • Spirituality External link

    ◦ For folks who want to heal, reclaim, or restore their relationship with spirituality ◦ Experiential approaches to encountering Life Force Energy aka Self Energy ◦ LGBTQ+ identities in the context of spiritual development ◦ Utilization of somatic & parts work ◦ 12 Step recovery friendly ◦ Welcoming of religious, agnostic, polytheistic and atheistic views

  • Family Conflict External link

    ◦ Parent & Adult Child Issues ◦ Adult Sibling (birth order, roles, aging parents, etc) ◦ Family Development (sexual abuse, pregnancy, infertility, abortions, etc) ◦ Life Transitions (child/sibling/parental loss, grieving process) ◦ Neurodivergence -related issues (strategies, invisibility, masking, etc) ◦ Intergenerational Traumas (forced migrations, climate chaos, assimilation) ◦ Processing Whiteness (culture loss, identity issues, belonging, reparations)

  • Relationship / Marriage Issues External link

    ◦ Attachment repair: Family of origin traumas, reparenting, addiction issues ◦ Gender & sexuality: coming out, Intimacy & sex; mind-body connection; somatic experiences in intimacy ◦ Relationship transformations: Feelings of stuckness or staleness; boredom; liberatory approaches to relationship ◦ Mindful Matrimony: Premarital counseling; wedding worries/family blending; separation & divorce. ◦ Navigations of non-monogamy: opening up; navigating boundaries; kink dynamics; sex work

Contact Ernest

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