Portland Therapy Center
Douglas Johns

Douglas Johns (he/him)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

LCSW

I'm a relationship specialist; I only see couples. Utilizing 90 minute sessions, I teach skills anchored in Collaborative Couple Therapy.

Client Status

accepting clients

Contact

503-252-3739

811 NW 20th Ave

Suite 104

Portland, 97209

Email Website

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $180-$225

Provides free initial consultation

Provides telehealth services

Practicing Since: 1998

Languages: English

Services

  • Relationship

Insurances Accepted

  • Out of Pocket
  • Out of Network

My Ideal Client

Sessions are a full 90 minutes in length; this helps couples more easily transition into each session and explore their needs. I also offer "Last Chance" couple therapy: One session, three hours in length, to understand what changes your relationship needs for both of you to be happy together. I have over 30 years experience as a family therapist & have been a relationship specialist, who only sees couples, since 2014. I help couples turn arguments into opportunities for intimacy & connection.

My Approach to Helping

Collaborative Couple Therapy (CCT), my primary orientation, structures and models intimate conversations that enable couples to maintain emotional connection during painful interactions. These skills are foundational to healthy relationships. I also incorporate "differentiation" (as described by David Schnarch, Ph.D.): the ability to 'self-soothe' when painful interactions tempt you to angrily blame your partner and/or surrender your innate strength and resiliency. My foundational task as a CCT therapist is in helping you and your partner have intimate conversations about your problems through relating with each other as allies and confidants. In a collaborative conversation I help you and your partner talk with each other as if observing the problem from a platform, suspended high above the fray, looking down at the situation and people with compassionate curiosity, awareness, and reflection. Your experiences and practice in session transfers to your lives outside of my office.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

As a relationship specialist I devote my entire practice and professional life to understanding what skills make relationships strong and joyful. My primary orientation is called Collaborative Couple Therapy (CCT). I have over sixty hours of training in CCT through direct mentorship with Dan Wile, Ph.D., its originator. I believe so strongly in CCT that, prior to his death in 2020, I invested six years of regular travel down to Oakland, California to train with Dan. I'll bring that same level of commitment to my work with you. John Gottman, Ph.D., arguably the foremost research psychologist on what factors build good relationships, has written that Dan Wile is a “genius” and that CCT comports with his research findings for effective couple therapy. I am also informed by David Schnarch’s description of ‘differentiation’, by depth training in Existential Psychotherapy, by many years of training in and practice of Brief-Solution Focused Therapy, and by Buddhist Psychology.

Techniques I Use

Specialties

  • Collaborative Couple Therapy External link

    Collaborative Couple Therapy (CCT) starts from a belief that problems in relationship are also opportunities for increasing intimacy. Through understanding & communicating the deeper truth of your feelings (beneath anger, defensiveness, & avoidance), you can change adversarial dynamics into intimate connection. As your therapist my repeated role is to help you & your partner have intimate conversations about your dilemmas. I have 60+ hours of training in CCT with its originator Dan Wile, Ph.D.

  • Gottman Method External link

    John Gottman has described Collaborative Couple Therapy, my speciality, as completely consistent with his research findings for cultivating loving relationships and named its originator, Dan Wile, "the greatest living marital therapist." I have 36+ hours of training with the Gottman Institute and, in particular, utilize Gottman Institute Research to inform my practice methodology.

  • Mindfulness-based External link

    I have been a dedicated student of Zen Buddhism since 2002. My daily meditation practice has only changed my life for the better. I am also a student of Jon Kabat-Zinn, having participated in his week long training in Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in 2008. Mindfulness is a potent way to soothe our own vulnerable feelings and reduce our suffering.

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • Relationship / Marriage Issues External link

    I'm a relationship specialist: Collaborative Couple Therapy (CCT) is the sole focus of my practice; that's important because couple therapy is inherently different from other types of therapy. Effective couple therapy keeps the focus on the client-couple’s relationship patterns which takes skill to consistently follow, maintain, & interpret. I have 60+ hours of direct mentorship with the originator of CCT, Dan Wile, Ph.D. I provide a mature perspective refined through only working with couples.

Contact Douglas

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