Portland Therapy Center
Katherine Chiba, LCSW

Katherine Chiba, LCSW

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

I believe we are all good people, doing the best we can, and it is my privilege to welcome a few splendid souls into my office.

Client Status

accepting clients

Contact

503-816-1808

2250 NW Flanders

Suite 103

Portland, OR 97210

Telehealth Virtual Office

Email

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $80-$175

Provides free initial consultation

Provides telehealth services

Practicing Since: 1999

Languages: English

Services

  • Individual
  • Group
  • Relationship

Insurances Accepted

  • Out of Pocket
  • Out of Network
  • Cigna
  • MHN
  • Medicare
  • MODA
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My Ideal Client

I suppose my ideal client is the person who contacts me and wants to work! In twenty four years as a full-time therapist I have had the privilege of working with hundreds of different people, and I can honestly say that I have been glad to know all of them. Although I am trained in a variety of evidence based practices that seek to address specific diagnoses, I feel passionately that the treatment has to fit the individual, and not the reverse.

My Approach to Helping

Therapy is pretty simple: two or more people get together in a room and talk. It's not a magic bullet, and it's not pain free. Sometimes, for a while, people in therapy feel worse because they are opening up hurts and traumas that haven't been addressed. Sometimes its painful because we have to face up to things about ourselves or our situations that we would rather ignore. It's worth it because we have the chance to look at things from a different perspective, to ask different questions, to challenge ourselves and, ultimately, get more of what we want out of life. Understanding where we've been and how we got here is important, but in order to feel better, we often have to do something different. In therapy we can learn to identify what the options are, evaluate the risks and benefits of different options, and make the best choice for ourselves. We also have to learn to live with the fact that some choices are not, sadly, on the table.

My Values as a Therapist

I lived in Japan for 17 years, during which time I taught in a community college and did graduate studies in clinical psychology. After the death of my husband I brought our two children back to the US and started my graduate studies over again, this time pursuing a master's in social work at Portland State University. I have been in practice since 1999, first in community mental health and, for the past 15 years, at the VA, where I was hired to help start a Dialectical Behavior Therapy program. For the past three years I have focused on general psychotherapy for clients with a wide variety of diagnosis, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety disorders. I have also trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia, and have utilized this modality in individual and group treatment.

Techniques I Use

Specialties

  • Existential External link

    The only two certainties for human beings are life and death. What we do between those two goalposts is up to us. How do we live with joy and excitement knowing that life is temporary? How do we live with joy and excitement when it seems our lives have dragged on for too long? Acknowledging and accepting the realities of human existence frees us up to engage fully and create lives worth living.

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) External link

    I have been a DBT therapist for over 15 years. The approach informs all of my work with clients and I integrate skills training into both individual and couples therapy.

  • Cognitive Behavioral (CBT) External link

    How we think about things affects our behaviors. How we behave affects how we think and what we believe. Too often our beliefs about ourselves or other people do what they do are distorted or incomplete. Challenging those beliefs opens up new ways of behaving and interacting with ourselves and the world.

  • Mindfulness-based External link
  • Couples Counseling External link

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • Veterans/Military Service External link

    I have had the enormous privilege of working with veterans and their families for 15 years. Although I am not a vet myself, I have learned a great deal about military culture and the ongoing impact of military service. As veterans have expanding choices for receiving treatment in the public sector, I hope to provide another resource for the support and treatment they have earned.

  • Aging Concerns External link

    Sexuality, parenting adult children, estrangements from family members, living with chronic illness and chronic pain, retirement, choices about where and how to live, and end of life issues are just some of the topics I have enjoyed addressing with my clients of mature years. Being a not-so-young person myself, I have a particular interest in helping my peers live full and interesting lives.

  • Insomnia External link

    Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (cbt-i) is an evidence based, six- to eight-session treatment that quite simply helps people achieve more satisfactory sleep. I have been extensively trained in this modality, and also help patients with CPAP machines increase their tolerance and improve adherence to treatment plans. You can learn the tools to sleep well without medications!

  • PTSD External link

    I have been working with veterans for fifteen years, and a majority of my clients suffer from PTSD related to combat trauma, childhood trauma, or sexual trauma, or, far too often, a combination of these. I won't lie to you: people who suffer from this kind of catastrophic pain are never going to be the same as if it hadn't happened. The good news: you can have a life worth living. Therapy helps.

Contact Katherine

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