Travis Wright (he/him)

Existential

My work with trauma survivors has led me to develop and connect with other existential therapists in the community. This perspective addresses some of the deeper questions of purpose and meaning associated with suffering. The intent is not to fix but to learn to become more of yourself within the context of our existential struggles as a human being. To be more in tune with who we are, life can have more profound moments and more freedom.

Humanistic 

I believe that each human being has great potential. Given time and space, most people can explore their past to see how it informs the present. Change is a function of time and the more we know about ourselves the larger the role we play to enact change. My goal has always been to come together with people to help them feel less alone and more connected to the world.

Transpersonal

The connections between each other is the way that we define ourselves. There is an old Spanish proverb that says "tell me who you walk with and I'll tell you who you are." To explore and articulate our relationships can have a very profound effect on how we experience this life. People are genuinely happier when they feel deeply connected. This is at the core of therapy and being alive in the world.

Family Systems

To have some deeper knowledge of our own family system can illuminate much of our habits and behaviors. This then gives us some space to begin to enact change with the people around us. Our own family system is some of the deepest parts of our experience in this life and having some knowledge about it can be liberating. Of course, this kind of work is not so easily explored since much of life's pain comes from our childhood.

Anxiety

I am not sure there are many people nowadays who do not feel some measure of anxiety. In fact, I would like to think that this might be the appropriate response to the world we live in. That being said I think that anxiety can be all consuming and in this respect becomes dysfunctional. The question then becomes how do we mitigate the anxiety of our lives in way that does not avoid necessarily but invigorates us as a call to action.

Veterans/Military Service

My work with veterans spans the last twenty years and I have had the privilege to work with veterans from WWII to the present. I also saw veterans who experienced military sexual trauma. As the director of the Portland Vet Center I facilitated numerous Combat Focus Groups including the African-American Combat Focus Group. I have also worked with family members of sailors and soldiers who were killed on active duty providing bereavement counseling as well.

Historical Trauma

Over the last two decades I have worked with combat veterans, veterans who experienced sexual trauma, and family members whose loved ones died in service. Much of this work was in and around trauma and traumatic loss/grief. I have found that most people experience trauma at one point or another in their lives. In fact, people often experience much more trauma than is ever revealed and yet seem to be able to function.

Men's Issues

I have worked with men over the years in most of stages of their development. With this work I find exploring cultural and social perspectives along with the pressures of being male very helpful. Exploring male roles and finding deeper connections to who you really are is a core of the work that I focus on. Because of my humanistic and existential perspective exploring "what is a man" can be quite interesting and illuminating as well.

Loss or Grief

I believe that most of us carry around quite a bit of unexplored grief and loss. Our culture is not very good at allowing these feelings to be present. If you are alive then you will experience grief and loss. By having the time, space, and permission to explore these feelings this then frees us up to the larger experience of being alive.