Therapists for college students near Portland State University
We move through our days like houses filled with locked rooms, some we have never entered, some we have sealed off ourselves. We tell ourselves stories about why we cannot move forward, about the things that press against us—unseen but insistent. And yet, no one is truly alone. We are shaped by the hands and voices of others, by the echoes of what was said and unsaid. Change, is not a solitary act. My work is to sit with you in the quiet, to help you unlatch the doors, to sweep away the dust and debris of what holds you back. You do not need to become someone else—only to step fully into yourself. I also specialize in guiding those with ADHD through the labyrinth of daily life and helping people find clarity in their careers.
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.
It is important to me that when we meet, you feel like you are connecting with another human being who deeply cares about your emotional world and sincerely wants to understand the challenges you may be facing. Therapy is a space for you to slow down, pause, and reconnect with the strength that already resides within you. I combine my professional knowledge and experience with a genuine desire to create a warm, authentic environment that fosters trust and allows you to explore what matters most. I feel privileged to support you in your healing process, and I am committed to breaking down the traditional hierarchy that can sometimes exist between therapist and client. I have always been fascinated by the human experience—how we interact with others, ourselves, and the world around us. My own personal growth journey and how I have overcome adversity in my life, is a core part of who I am and have become, and it helps me show up for you in a meaningful, empathetic way. I am grateful to witness the growth and resilience of my clients, and I’m particularly passionate about helping those who may be held back by fear or shame. My goal is to support you in confidently stepping into your full potential, believing in yourself, and living authentically. I am also passionate about social justice, including anti-racism, intersectional feminism, LGBTQI rights, body and sex positivity, mindfulness, nature, and radical autonomy. I hold a Master’s in Education in Couples and Family Therapy from the University of Oregon and have been a licensed therapist since 2009. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in Oregon, I look at the “systems” that influence our lives, whether cultural, familial, or relational, and how they shape the difficulties we experience. In my practice, I work with individuals, couples, and families, helping each person navigate their unique challenges and move towards the life they want to create. I specialize in a wide range of difficulties someone may be facing including pregnancy and postpartum challenges, relationship issues, women survivors, sexuality and personal identity and more. I also specialize in anxiety, stress, self-esteem/self-worth, life changes and transitions and trauma. I am a trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive therapist.
*My office is within walking distance of the OSU - Cascades campus. I highly value working with college students as this is an exciting time in your life of growth and the ability to make your own choices that affect the trajectory of your life. Are you ready to experience change in your life? Are you struggling in your relationships with your family or in your marriage? Have you experienced challenges parenting your child or teen? Do you want to build stronger family bonds or have a more intimate relationship with your partner? Life is all about relationships and how we can best connect with those that we love. Maybe past events or patterns of behavior are contributing to the issues you are experiencing? It's important to find a clinician that you can connect with so you feel safe and confident in moving forward towards your goals. I would like to join your journey towards healing and restoration. Counseling provides an opportunity to focus on what experiences, habits, and patterns that cause you to feel "stuck" while in a safe and judgement free place. Trauma touches most everyone and affects our internal belief systems. These underlying beliefs affect how we think, feel, and act. I specialize in trauma recovery and use an attachment based approach, EMDR, family systems, and internal family systems. These interventions provide relief for trauma symptoms and assist in rebuilding a person's core self-identity. If you are ready for change, please call for your free phone consultation and let's begin.
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.
My name is Kaci Schmitt (she/her). I am happy and honored to be able to offer counseling and therapy services to children, adolescents, and adults in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, as well as throughout the states of Oregon and Washington for teletherapy. I truly enjoy working with clients who are looking to process various experiences, transitions, and challenges in their lives, as well as gain knowledge, trust, and compassion for themselves and deepen their capacity for mental and emotional wellness. There are times in life where we can use an empathic, nonjudgmental therapist who can be present with us as we explore our challenges and develop insight. In addition to deeply listening to you, I will hold space for your stories, history, and cultural experiences, as well as encourage you to hold compassion and curiosity for your unique challenges. I specialize in working with teens and adults with anxiety, trauma, and grief and loss. Many of the clients I work with are highly sensitive persons (HSPs) and looking for ways to cultivate wellness in their lives. I also frequently work with people in the helping fields who are experiencing burnout and exhaustion, who are ready to explore ways to process vicarious and secondary trauma and prioritize true self-care. I truly love the work I do. I began my practice because I believe that we all have the capacity to grow, heal, and transform, and that we all have insight that we can develop and learn to trust. I also believe that working through our challenges with self-compassion and understanding can help us move from pain and frustration to peace and autonomy. We are all capable of creating meaningful lives of peace. I deeply believe that we all have an innate capacity to heal and that each person is their own best resource and source of wisdom, and that we often need a little help allowing ourselves to access and trust our intuition. We all have many possible selves, and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are, who others are, and how life works can help or hurt our chances at being the self we want to be. I also believe that there must be space in therapy to process the things about life that are hard, painful, exhausting, and often heartbreaking, all while cultivating a gentler, more compassionate, resilient way of being in this world. Therapy allows us the opportunity to develop self-awareness and explore action steps that we can take to improve our wellbeing. I respect the process it takes to discover new things about ourselves and integrate what we have learned into our lives, and I encourage my clients to do so with great care for themselves. I consider it a privilege to be a collaborative partner in the healing and transformation process.
I believe psychotherapy is a project between two people where sources of emotional pain and anguish are discovered and revisited, where what has been denied, unimagined, forgotten, or come to be unspeakable can become imagined, felt and spoken. The process generates an understanding of ourselves that is vastly more dynamic than what our relationships, politics and culture allow, leading to the easing of suffering and the creation of new possibilities. The therapy I provide is open, an invitation. There is a freedom to it that takes courage and tolerance. It can involve a deconstructive or constructive momentum where you may not necessarily be told what to say or how to feel. It is an invitation to notice what comes to mind and what does not. What can emerge in a therapy is dynamic. It can surprise, frustrate, thrill and provoke. These experiences are worked through together. As you bring yourself as fully as possible to what confuses or afflicts, I will help guide you with my understanding of the mind toward a life of growth and healing.
Please visit my profile to learn more about my services.