Go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows.
-Rainer Maria Rilke
Welcome!
Reaching out can be a vulnerable process and takes courage. I am glad you are here.
I offer a warm and compassionate presence that helps clients address painful areas in their life related to stress, anxiety, depression, and trauma.
I am a firm believer that therapy can be a fun, dynamic, and illuminating process. The best investment you can ever make is one in yourself.
Services
I provide individual counseling services via telehealth to adults over 18 in Oregon and Washington.
My clients are exhausted, anxious, and often traumatized over-givers. They think about everyone else before themselves and find it nearly impossible to say no. They are afraid of conflict and they are ruled by guilt.
My clients often describe a disconnect between their rational mind, emotional mind, and body.
For instance, the thinking mind might say, “I have good friends, so I know I must be likeable“ but the emotional mind thinks, “I am unlovable and it's inevitable that people will leave me.”
OR
The body feels restless and wants to run away and the rational mind says," I know this person is safe. What is wrong with me?!"
OR
The emotional mind believes, “I am a fraud, it is just a matter of time before others find out.” Meanwhile the rational mind says, “I have never had a negative performance review at work, so I know everything is fine.”
This disconnect can be confusing and painful, creating quite the tug of war.
I am an IFS therapist, meaning I am trained to work directly with different parts of people. Together we will learn more about why parts carry these beliefs, and to help them get unstuck so that they can work together more efficiently.
If you have tried traditional talk therapy and have been frustrated that you are not making progress because you are just talking about how your week went, I might be the right fit for you.
Through our work together you will be empowered with real tools that you can use immediately to start feeling better now.
You will be able to understand why you are taken over by strong emotions and work directly with them in order to release old burdens.
You will be able to attend to the root of what is driving your pain and release old beliefs that no longer serve you.
You will have more room in your life to enjoy your relationships with others while developing a healthier and more nourishing relationship with yourself.
Internal Family Systems therapy (IFS)
I work primarily through IFS.
This approach recognizes that we all contain many parts of our personality and all of them are doing the best they can to protect us and manage our life. Many times our parts have learned protective jobs during traumatic or painful periods, and they continue to do these jobs even when the actual helpfulness has run its course. For example, if you grew up in a household with angry, scary people, you may have learned that the best way to avoid problems was to keep people around you as happy as possible no matter what. This may have worked beautifully then, but those enduring patterns may cause you a lot of challenges in your adult life. IFS helps us learn more about those parts and their protective intent while connecting them with Self energy, the place already existing inside us all that carries Compassion, Curiosity, Calm, Clarity, Courage, Connectedness, Confidence, and Creativity, and knows how to heal. This work is built on a couple of very important premises:
- All parts are welcome! - All parts have protective intent (even if our behavior seems destructive) - We have what we need to heal.
Many clients say this is the deepest and most transformative kind of work they have ever done. It can be extremely powerful for the mind, body, and spirit.
I invite you to learn more here:
EMDR is a form of highly researched, evidence based treatment which accelerates the body’s capacity to process and heal troubling information. Trauma is inherently overwhelming and as a result traumatic memory is not stored the same way as non-traumatic memory; this is why we might find ourselves thinking about disturbing memories when we don't want to be, and why we have overwhelming feelings that don't seem to make sense, have flashbacks, and nightmares. During sessions, the emotional overwhelm of distressing memory is reduced so that you can think differently about it and feel differently about yourself.
Have you ever experienced your feelings and thoughts saying different things? For instance, knowing something was not your fault but still feeling like it was anyway? By reducing your emotional overwhelm, your knowing starts to feel authentically true. This sounds too good to be true, but I have seen it happen over and over-- it works!
Please learn more about EMDR here: https://www.emdria.org
This is a body based approach to working with wounding and offers us a “bottom up” way of doing so, meaning we listen to and directly work with the sensations and impulses in our bodies. Sensorimotor approaches will help us develop the somatic and imaginal resources we need to help our nervous system feel safe and offers us a way to physically move distressing memories through our bodies.
So many of us are disconnected from our bodies because our bodies hold our pain. However, our bodies can be our best ally and tell us important information-- like when our needs are not getting met or when we need a boundary. Our bodies have a natural intelligence; our bellies, for instance have more neurotransmitter sites than our brains-- up to 95% of the body's serotonin is found in the gut!
More information can be found here:
ACT combines mindfulness, cognitive tools, commitment strategies and values clarification to allow us to work on taking effective action guided by your deepest values in order to create a rich and meaningful life. We work on developing acceptance of our pain as it is showing up in this moment so that we can be more effective with it.
If you are looking for practical, ready to use tools that will help you create the change you want to see in your life, this is a great approach. ACT is very concrete and offers a wonderful frame for understanding psychological pain and why we act the ways we do. Using these tools can help us unstick from old patterns quickly while using our highest values as a compass to drive forward action in our lives.
There is a lot of great information about ACT online!
Here are some ideas: https://www.actmindfully.com.au
Treatment Modalities
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
(SP)
About
Katie Ray
I graduated from Lewis and Clark College with a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology in 2008. I have worked in various settings including community mental health, intensive outpatient/partial hospitalization and outpatient psychiatry for many years. I am proud to have helped develop both a trauma program and an Acceptance and Commitment therapy program during my time in agency work. I have also been a yoga teacher and enjoy infusing this practice into my work and personal care as well. Outside of work I enjoy spending time with my lovely family, and am an avid knitter, learner, and explorer.
Social justice statement: The negative impact of racism, prejudice, discrimination, and oppression on mental health is generationally profound. I recognize the need to do my own work in acknowledging racism, my own privilege, and to continuously educate myself on systems of oppression and the negative impacts they cause. I welcome people from all backgrounds and strive to create a safe and welcoming space. I also welcome conversations about race, discrimination, privilege, and power as part of the therapy process.
Contact
Serving clients via telehealth in Oregon and Washington
971-222-7330
Please contact me if you would like to request a free 20 minute consultation
Services and Fees
Offering telehealth therapy for individuals 18 and over
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Consultation (20 mins) $0
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Initial Session (60 min) $180
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Individual Psychotherapy (50 min) $160
Therapy is an investment in yourself! I am considered an out of network provider for most insurance companies. Many insurance companies provide partial reimbursement for out of network providers. I am happy to provide you with a monthly receipt that you can submit to your insurance company for reimbursement. Please make sure you check with your insurance company to learn more about your coverage.
You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency healthcare services, including psychotherapy services. Please visit www.cms.gov/nosuprises to learn more.
FAQ
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Where are you located?
I am located in Portland, OR but I am licensed in both Oregon and Washington and can work with people residing in either state.
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Do you offer in-person sessions?
I do not, I am telehealth only. I have been providing exclusively telehealth services since 2020 and have found it to be a game changer! Studies have been showing treatment efficacy rates are the same with telehealth vs in person services-- and yes, this includes EMDR! With telehealth you don't have to commute and you can access services within the comfort of your home or office. This can be vulnerable work, so grab a comfortable blanket, cup of tea, or favorite pet before we get started.
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Can I use my insurance?
I am not in network with any insurance company. Using insurance can be limiting: companies closely monitor your usage and have some access to your health information. In order to qualify to use insurance benefits, you have to have a "diagnosable mental disorder." People seek counseling for all kinds of reasons, many are not "disordered" and would not be deemed medically necessary. If you do have a diagnosable condition, you may be able to have some of your treatment covered through your out of network benefits. Please call your insurance company to check and to ask if a pre-authorization is required.
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How often will we meet?
I meet with people weekly, every other week, or monthly. I do ask that people commit to treatment and have a reschedule only attendance policy; this means that your designated hour is your responsibility and you agree to pay for your appointment for the duration of our work together regardless of whether you choose to come. If you have a schedule conflict you may request to reschedule for a different time the same week, the week before, or the week if our schedules align.
