Jessi Huffman

Jessi Huffman (she/her)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC

Hello! I'm excited to partner with you in your search for healing, growth, and expansion of your experience in the world.

Client Status

not accepting clients

Contact

503-990-7677

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $150

Provides free initial consultation

Practicing Since: 2016

Languages: English

Services

  • Individual
  • Group

Insurances Accepted

  • Out of Pocket
  • Out of Network
  • OHP CareOregon/HealthShare

My Ideal Client

Perhaps you've tried behavioral therapies and while you've learned skills and saw improvement, you'd like to really know yourself better. Maybe you experienced trauma and while you are resilient, it still haunts you in ways you don't fully understand. Or possibly the grief of being a human in this world is leaving your tender self feeling isolated and a bit hopeless these days, and you're looking to reconnect to something good. I get it, and I'm here to walk alongside you on the path.

My Approach to Helping

I come to this work with great optimism in the strength and goodness of humans, but not without an acknowledgement of the oppressive systems that create barriers to getting what we need, and which affect many populations disproportionately. With this awareness, I am oriented towards your internal resources and innate power to heal, and my work is built around encouraging those personal insights necessary for growth to happen. I work to create space that welcomes all emotions, encourages deep insight and self-compassion, and is curious about what unconscious dynamics may be shifted in order for transformation to occur. I do this through a psychodynamic orientation, which is focused on the unconscious processes that affect and guide our behavior. Using the wisdom of the body as a guide, we gently explore any areas that cause discomfort and pain, which often helps us better understand our behavior, thoughts, and feelings and ultimately integrate our understanding into a more whole self.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

I find that we learn the most through our experiences, especially those that require tenacity and endurance to move through. My own healing work, which has included not only therapy but many other transformative practices, is ongoing and will never be finished. This work allows me to appreciate the therapy I provide not as an end to healing, but as one avenue along a journey with many potential roads. Therapy can be helpful in getting us unstuck and providing a new perspective, but we are whole beings who require social connection and support, causes we are passionate about, and a connection to that thread of "why are we here?" Supporting others is part of my "why", as is being present with and honoring myself and the humans in my life, caring for and spending time in nature, and creation in many forms (music, painting, clay, writing).

Techniques I Use

Specialties

  • Psychodynamic  External link

    A psychodynamic orientation is one that is focused on the unconscious processes that guide our behavior. Guided by whatever is coming up for you, we explore with gentle curiosity and openness anything causing pain or distress in order to examine what unconscious dynamics may be shifted in order for transformation to occur. I often describe this type of work as a marathon rather than a sprint, as it can take time, be challenging, and we may often even hit a "wall" before breaking through.

  • Existential External link

    My curiosity is guided by my existential training and encourages exploration of our "why to be here" principles - the ones that guide us and hold us steady when everything around us is unknown or collapsing.

  • Mindfulness-based External link

    Mindfulness-based training has not only encouraged me to become a better therapist, but also a human who is deeply present and intuitive. This orientation helps us explore feelings and beliefs in the present moment, even ones we may not be fully aware of yet, and bring them to the surface where they can be held and released or reoriented to.

  • Attachment Theory External link

    I have had training in Interpersonal Neurobiology and Attachment Theory, or how the important relationships in our lives have had a physiological impact on our wiring and functioning. In therapy we can explore this relationally, ie. what comes up between us during sessions in the immediate moment, and we can also understand from a historical lens how the relationships in your life have shaped who you are, your sense of safety with others and the world, and what to do about all of it.

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • Anxiety External link

    Once we explore the beliefs that underlie anxiety as well as the ways it shows up in your body, we can begin to address the ways you are feeling limited and work to free yourself to experience relationships, work, and yourself more fully.

  • Chronic Pain or Illness External link

    When you are experiencing chronic pain or an illness with no end, it is often invisible to those around you, perhaps leaving you with feelings of hopelessness, isolation, and resentment. I have my own personal understanding of those experiences, and provide an empathic space where you can work toward acceptance and joy in the midst of loss and grief.

  • Compassion Fatigue External link

    Being a counselor during these volatile times has taught me much about what I need to do, not only to be ok, but to continue providing support and compassion to those around me. Nothing about being a helper is easy these days, but I fully believe the work is worth it and necessary for all of us to heal and thrive. If you're a worn-out helper and you want to keep helping but don't know where you will find the strength, I see you, I understand, and I want to walk with you.

  • Self-Esteem External link

    In this area I am guided by meditative practices as well as the work of Kristin Neff, Tara Brach, Jack Kornfield, and many other leaders in the mindful self-compassion realm. If you struggle to feel positively toward yourself or recognize the many strengths you come to the table with, therapy can grant permission to look at the good in ourselves while holding a curious and non-judgemental space for the things we're not so sure about.

  • Spirituality External link

    Spirituality - a loaded topic for many of us! I hold utmost respect for those who, for any reason, do not want religion or even spirituality to be a part of their therapy. I hold a gentle invitation to explore for those who are unsure, perhaps after leaving religion, what spirituality might look like for them. I see spirituality as the mystical part of us that needs to find the "Why", whatever that means for you - as well as the essence that connects us all to one another.

Contact Jessi

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