Portland Therapy Center
Nic Sutherland

Nic Sutherland (she/they)

Marriage and Family Therapist Associate

LMFT Associate

Supervisor: Paula Emerick, LMFT

I offer discernment and pre-marital counseling, conscious uncoupling support, and more for clients experiencing relationship transitions.

Client Status

accepting clients

Contact

5032084222

917 SW Oak St

407C

Portland, 97205

Email Website

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $100-$210

Provides free initial consultation

Practicing Since: 2022

Languages: English

Services

  • Individual
  • Family
  • Group
  • Relationship

Insurances Accepted

  • Out of Pocket

My Ideal Client

I work with couples, families (parents and children), and individuals (adults and teenagers) going through intense change in their relationships such as breaking up, getting married, starting a family, infertility, blending families, moving in together, grieving a death or loss, separating and divorcing, or trying to stay together even when it’s hard.

My Approach to Helping

No matter what difficulty or un-expected turn in your life and relationships has brought you to therapy, my goal is to build an authentic, trusting relationship that facilitates connection to yourself and others, owning your capacity for choice in the face of limiting circumstances, and finding meaning. I believe the deepest heartbreaks in our lives open us up to the deepest connections and sense of being human. I utilize emotionally-focused therapy to foster secure attachment, vulnerability, and understanding. With an existential-humanistic lens, I work experientially to face with is true for you, and to support you in making meaningful, authentic choices in the face of uncertainty. I draw on Internal Family Systems in order to access the parts of yourself who have been hurt and made to protect, creating cohesion and self-trust.

My Values as a Therapist

Relationships have their own life cycles with critical junctures (painful, joyful, and often marked by uncertainty), and what would life be without them? In this life, I believe we're made to make meaning, and being in relationship to ourselves, others, and the world is the most meaningful part. My choice to become a therapist is a result of my early life experiences. I am a child of divorce, raised in a high-conflict, multicultural, and blended family. In the homes I grew up in, the ruptures from divorce left open wounds, that made new wounds for the next generation. I see the end of relationships (whether through death, divorce, or any other means) as inevitable, normal, and highly impactful, and in my practice I work to minimize the harm caused by such loss as much as possible; maybe even transforming it into deeper authenticity, connection, and a sense of being human. .

Techniques I Use

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • Premarital Counseling External link

    If you’re making a new commitment- getting married, moving in together, having children, or re-defining your relationship agreements in any way- it’s a great time to sit down together to define roles, values, and future goals. We’ll identify your strengths and points of conflict as a couple, developing skills for your next phase of life; show up early and prevent “last chance” or discernment counseling later.

  • Divorce External link

    I offer discernment counseling for those who need clarity to make the difficult decision of splitting up, working on the relationship, or maintaining the status quo, and couple's therapy for couples who know they want to split up and would like to do so with mutual respect and care. I work with parents and children to process the impact of separation and blending families, to support the most vulnerable family members.

Contact Nic

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