Portland Therapy Center
Laura Canepa

Laura Canepa (she/her)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

MSW, LCSW

An empathic and skilled partner supporting you through healing, growth and change.

Client Status

accepting clients

Contact

503.314.2176

1421 SE Ankeny St

Portland, 97214

Email Website

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $180-$220

Provides free initial consultation

Practicing Since: 2008

Languages: English

Services

  • Individual

Insurances Accepted

  • Out of Pocket
  • Aetna

My Ideal Client

Each stage of life presents us with challenges that require skill building and shifts in how we operate within relationship and the world. This can be overwhelming and leave us feeling anxious, depressed and ill prepared to cope. I am passionate about working with adults facing life and role transitions. The stresses of adjustment to parenthood, a new career, illness, loss, aging of oneself or a loved are often under appreciated. You are not alone in how you are feeling.

My Approach to Helping

As a clinical social worker, I have been supporting people facing significant life stressors for the last 18+. My career has been spent working in healthcare and walking alongside individuals and families facing serious and chronic illness, grief and loss, aging, and those in caregiving roles. I believe it is the human experience to have a broad range of emotions. Sometimes we need support to feel our feelings. Sometimes we need to learn skills to help us navigate our expression of emotion in healthy and productive ways. Sometimes we need to look at our thought process and explore where our self narrative comes from and if it is serving us. Other times, we really need to get out of our heads and into our bodies to promote healing. My approach is person-centered, trauma-informed and eclectic, drawing from CBT, DBT, ACT and mindfulness based strategies. Our work will be centered on partnership and working toward goals that matter most to you.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

I believe that we are all shaped by our environments, cultures and families of origin and that understanding the impact of these factors is central to personal growth and acceptance. My clients have taught me that when desired, insight and change can occur at any age. I believe in the inherent worth of every person and am a fierce advocate for those who have been marginalized. I've found that connection can occur with people who've had vastly different life experiences and that relationship is the vehicle for healing.

Techniques I Use

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • Aging Concerns External link

    Specialized education and training in gerontology with extensive experience working with older adults, those living with dementia and co-occurring chronic medical issues. I especially enjoy supporting people in caregiving roles for aging loved ones.

  • Anxiety External link

    Extensive experience supporting people struggling with anxiety. I employ approaches centered in mindfulness, the body, and one's cognitive experiences. I believe skill-building is central to reducing and coping with anxiety.

  • Loss or Grief External link

    I honor life's many losses and experiences of grief, which do not occur only with a death. I worked for 6 years on a speciality palliative care team counseling significantly ill individuals and families as they faced end-of-life.

  • Chronic Pain or Illness External link

    18+ years working in healthcare settings with a focus on individual's facing chronic illness. Extensive experience supporting people navigating the healthcare system as they seek to get the care they need.

  • Depression External link

    Have served individuals struggling with major depressive disorder and situational depression.

Contact Laura

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