Portland Therapy Center
Nic Sutherland

Nic Sutherland (she/they)

Marriage and Family Therapist Associate

LMFT Associate

Supervisor: Paula Emerick, LMFT

I support clients in finding authenticity, agency, and connection in the face of the inevitable changes life has to offer.

Client Status

accepting clients

Contact

5032084222

917 SW Oak St

407C

Portland, 97205

Email Website

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $100-$195

Provides free initial consultation

Practicing Since: 2022

Languages: English

Services

  • Individual
  • Family
  • Group
  • Relationship

Insurances Accepted

  • Out of Pocket
  • OHP CareOregon/HealthShare

My Ideal Client

I work with couples, families, and individuals experiencing break ups, new relationships, current and past trauma, disconnection from self and others, disconnection from creativity and meaning, or other transitions in self and situation. My clients are queer, kinky, non-monogamous, monogamous, getting together, splitting up, launching careers; if you're experiencing a new season of life, I am here to accompany you through it.

My Approach to Helping

As a marriage and family therapist, I will always conceptualize your life through a systemic lens, attuning to the systems of power that impact your life, the relationships that surround you, and how your past experiences make their way into the present moment, shaping the future. As an existential humanistic therapist, I will be looking for the tensions and contradictions that you hold, your willingness to face what is true, and your belief systems. I draw on Internal Family Systems in order to access the parts of yourself with different wants and needs. We will connect to the parts of you that are scared, angry, protective, entirely disconnected, joyful, etc. They are all true, an and together they build the tapestry of your authenticity. My goal is to help you find connection to yourself and others, own your capacity for choice in the face of limiting circumstances, and find inspiration and meaning.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

In this life, I believe we are all born to connect and make meaning. As your therapist, my goal is to build a safe relationship with you, in which we can explore the complexity of your life; the mundane, the magic, the painful. This looks like curiosity, honesty, laughter, use of metaphor, play and art therapy techniques, naming and feeling emotion, and most importantly, relying on the quality of our own relationship to create new experiences.

Techniques I Use

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • Relationship / Marriage Issues External link

    No matter your relationship structure or the kind of love you share, relational therapy is a space for two people to intentionally reshape their relationship through feeling emotion, expressing emotion, and attuning to emotion. In relational therapy, we work toward equity, shared values, shared understanding, and genuine connection based on trust and safety.

  • Divorce External link

    As a child of divorce, I know firsthand the intricacies and pain points of a ruptured relationship. I love supporting clients who have found themselves in the painful position of ending a relationship do so with care, intention, and mutual understanding.

  • Adjustment Disorder External link

    If given the option on this platform, I wouldn't use the DSM diagnosis here, but rather point to the inevitable, painful, meaning cycles of change we are constantly thrown into by life. There is no avoiding the discomfort of change and growth, and when we can accept what we are really experiencing, we open possibilities we didn't know were there. I love being witness and steward to this kind of growth with my clients.

Contact Nic

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