MARY PORTNER WELCOMES YOU

If your pipes burst in your home, what are you going to do? If you're handy and have a good wealth of knowledge regarding pipelines, duct, hose, line, pressure, welding and sewer, you might to fix the problem yourself and do a fine good job. It may never need to be repaired again. 

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Or, if you have a general understanding of plumbing, you fix the pipe yourself as best as you know how. However, the jerry-rigging you've done doesn't last long, and your pipes continue to leak, aggravating you and causing long-term damage. But, you can manage.

Or, you have little idea how to go about fixing pipes, but you try anyway. The more you try though, the more you wreck havoc on these internal fixtures structure. Maybe until it's now more damaged than when you started to repair it. So, then you have to call a plumber--the expert. 

Now, think of your personal problems.  Your might be fairly handy about a specific topic, and you don't need help from an outside source. Other times, you might be able to just get by, and learn things along the way. Then sometimes, a problem grows to be overwhelming, you're operating far outside of your field of knowledge. You just haven't learned these skills. We in the mental health world, are those experts.   

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As your expert, we would engage in a results-oriented, encouraging, solution-focused venture. I use diverse tools from different theoretical standpoints that enables me to use both a person-centered (what are you thinking and why) and directive approach (what to do about it) to mobilization. Thus, sometimes we will review the past, the present, and the future, and other times we will work on concrete tools, specific examples, that I want you to try out in the real world.

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I embody mostly DBT and CBT principles, mindfulness, psychoeducation, philosophical inquisition, exposure/immersion therapy, graduated acceptance therapy, art as therapy, and other creative outlets.

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While trying to untangle life's serious issues, I follow the DBT catchphrase of "Effective Compassion." I try to align with you, the client, a sense of bonding, respect, empathy, perspective, guidance, and (comic) relief. I very much believe that one of the most therapeutic things in life is a laugh. 

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And dogs. And cheese.