Portland Therapy Center
Jane Mayer

Jane Mayer (she/her)

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

I love working with those who are grieving and helping people who hunger for more meaning and health in their lives.

Client Status

accepting clients

Contact

3835 NE Hancock Street

Suite 201

Portland, 97212

Email Website

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $150

Provides free initial consultation

Provides telehealth services

Practicing Since: 1999

Languages: English

Services

  • Individual

Insurances Accepted

  • Out of Pocket
  • Out of Network
  • Aetna
  • PacificSource

My Ideal Client

I help people grow who want to grow. I work with individual adults who are grieving, and those who are interested in growing and exploring new ways of relating to themselves, their work in the world, and others. Therapy, at its core, is a relationship between two people whose aim is to bring clarity and choice to the client. My goal is to work with clients with whom there is a meeting of our minds and hearts, and whose issues are ones which I can ethically and confidently address.

My Approach to Helping

I tailor my approach to the needs of each individual client. My training is in psychodynamic psychotherapy, which helps me to grasp the impact of your life's experiences and their impact on your way of being in the world, your relationship to yourself and others. My additional training includes work with grief work, attachment theory and somatic-based therapies which help me frame for you how you interact with your feelings, beliefs, assumptions and choices. My interpersonal style is active, engaged, honest and humorous. Most of my clients report feeling deeply supported and challenged in their work with me.

More About the People I Treat

My specialties include grief and loss work for people facing loss of loved ones to death or life changes, illness in themselves or recovering from life in dysfunctional/alcoholic families. I specialize in working with adults who are grieving the death of their life partner/spouse. I became a psychotherapist because I love the life journey, despite how harrowing, joyous and confusing it feels at times. A lifelong seeker of health and resilience, I first pursued my own growth work (and continue to) and then entered social work to develop reliable skills to help others find health, choice and possibility. I have been licensed and in practice since 2000. My additional training has been in grief and loss work, sensorimotor/somatic psychotherapy and in parenting education.

Techniques I Use

Specialties

  • Psychodynamic  External link

    My original training is in psychodynamic psychotherapy. This theoretical orientation helps me to understand the family patterns and experiences of my clients and how they impact their sense of themselves, relationships and others. Often we are relating in ways that do not work, and our actions and beliefs are based on past scripts, rather than the choice and perspectives of our grown up selves.

  • Humanistic  External link

    Approaching my clients as whole, meaning-filled human beings allows me to help them discover themselves, beyond their current self-concept. By engaging in present-moment relationship and through encouraging my clients to discover their ability to function in new and creative ways, my clients can discover more choice, self-esteem, and integrity in how they interact with themselves and others.

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • Loss or Grief External link

    My primary professional interest has been to learn how to be present to people as they grieve their losses. Often, well-meaning loved ones want to rush the bereaved through their pain, as it can seem settling and unsettling. Grief is a part of life that few of us learn to do well, and I help people move through their grief, honor their losses and learn how to move forward at their own pace. I work with many adults who are grieving the loss of their life partner/spouse.

  • Adjustment Disorder External link

    Specializing in life transitions, I work with clients who are facing the sometimes harrowing transitions that we encounter as humans: changing or ending relationships, learning to relate with our families healthily, partnering with significant others, parenting, occupational change, aging and grief and loss.

  • Family Caregiving External link

    Facing the role of caregiver to a loved one, child or elder can be a daunting task. The balance between caring for oneself and caring for another requires skill, mindfulness and support. I help caregivers learn how to discern what self-care means for them, and how to maintain it amidst the stress, grief and hard feelings that emerge along the way.

  • Codependency External link

    When one grows up in a family that is destabilized by the presence of alcoholism, traumatic loss, addiction, or insufficient parenting, we can adopt various strategies for relating to others that aren't healthy. These strategies leave us feeling as though we are sacrificing parts of ourselves to have love. I help people learn to relate healthily to themselves and others.

Contact Jane

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