Portland Therapy Center
James Reling

James Reling (he/him/his)

Professional Counselor Associate

#R6340

Supervisor: Stephen Keeley

Hello, I am currently full of therapy clients... However, I do have openings for autism/ADHD assessments for adults.

Client Status

accepting clients

Contact

9712046428

PO Box 68887

Portland, 97233

Email Website

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $115

Provides free initial consultation

Provides telehealth services

Practicing Since: 2019

Languages: English

Services

  • Individual

Insurances Accepted

  • Out of Pocket

My Ideal Client

I specialize in working with neurodivergent adults (autistic, ADHD, etc). I also specialize in helping people adjust to visible and invisible disabilities such as chronic illness/pain or physical injuries. I also enjoy working with artists, musicians, and other creative types, as well as anyone looking to integrate mind and body and incorporate mindfulness into their life.

My Approach to Helping

Everyone feels “stuck” from time to time. It’s just part of life. But it’s sometimes incredibly difficult to move ourselves through periods of pain, confusion or stagnancy. That’s when having the support and guidance of a therapist can make a huge difference. I seek to understand who you are and what has led you to the place you are now, and then help you explore where you’d like to go next and how to get there. I encourage my clients to foster curiosity about themselves and their inner experience as I guide them with a mindfulness-based, body-centered approach.  What is mindfulness? It’s a practice of noticing what’s happening inside yourself in the present moment. Our bodies hold on to emotional pain from the past in ways that can be difficult to explain or even notice. We might feel numb, or feel an overload of sensation (such as chronic pain). Mindfulness helps us connect our minds with our bodily experiences, even those that are difficult to describe to another person. 

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

I hold a dual master’s degree in clinical rehabilitation counseling with a disability focus and mental health counseling through a social justice lens. I trained in mindfulness-based body-centered psychotherapy (Hakomi method), which I then practiced in a yearlong internship as a mental health counselor at the Mindful Experiential Therapy Approaches (M.E.T.A.) Counseling Clinic. In this internship I met with clients in person and over video weekly for issues including depression, anxiety, trauma, adjusting to disability, eating disorders, career transitions, relationship issues, gender identity development, emotion regulation, self-esteem, and the search for meaning. I have completed additional training in somatic experiencing, acceptance and commitment therapy, narrative therapy, trauma, CBT, and mindfulness. Becoming a counselor is a new chapter in my life, following a twenty-year career in the music industry. I am supervised by Stephen Keeley, LPC, CHT, and Anne-Marie Benjamin, LPC.

Techniques I Use

Specialties

  • Hakomi External link

    I have completed training and a year-long internship in Hakomi Mindfulness-based Body-Centered and Experiential Psychotherapy and largely draw from this approach. This involves using mindfulness and nonjudgmental curiosity during therapy sessions to connect to your somatic (bodily) experience and how they connect to your emotions to heal wounding.

  • Somatic Therapy (Body Centered) External link

    Trauma (from big events to the accumulation of smaller invalidating experiences) is stored in the body, as is resilience and the potential for healing. By learning how to listen to and follow your body's cues, you can heal in ways that may be less accessible to traditional talk therapy. I am currently in a three-year training to become a Somatic Experiencing Practioner.

  • Mindfulness-based External link

    With your consent, I use mindfulness during therapy sessions to guide you toward your present experience and learn how to use mindfulness during everyday life to be more present and fulfilled.

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • Aspergers External link

    Well, we don't use the term "Aspergers" anymore, but there is no option for autism or neurodiversity. I work with neurodivergent clients from an affirming lens. Being autistic is not the problem; the problem is we live in an ableist culture that centers neurotypical experience. So I focus on understanding my neurodivergent clients' experiences, working with their strengths, and helping them with changes they wish to address, rather than what society deems as "appropriate" or "normal."

  • Chronic Pain or Illness External link

    My training in working with people who have disabilities includes chronic pain/illness, which can be particularly tricky to navigate when these disabilities are not 'visible' to others. Many people with chronic pain/illness can feel alone and misunderstood by their medical providers, family, friends, and employers.

Contact James

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