Portland Therapy Center
Jaxon Shaffer

Jaxon Shaffer (they/them)

Licensed Marriage Family Therapist

MA

Hi, I'm Jaxon; I respect that you are here. My practice focuses on support and healing for LGBTQ+ people and other underrepresented groups.

Client Status

accepting clients

Contact

5036603639

3800 SW Cedar Hills Blvd.

Beaverton, 97005

Email Website

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $150-$190

Provides free initial consultation

Provides telehealth services

Practicing Since: 2018

Languages: English

Services

  • Individual
  • Family
  • Child
  • Relationship
  • Teen

Insurances Accepted

  • Out of Pocket
  • Out of Network

My Ideal Client

Are you looking to process trauma? Gender? Figure out what flavor of neurodivergent you are and the best ways to cope? Maybe you are in a relationship with complex identity intersectionalities that needs support. I specialize in working with gender-diverse youth and adults, queer couples, those with insecure attachment, introverts, and neurodivergent folks. I support clients grappling with minority stress, facing unique challenges and societal pressures that exacerbate mental health struggles.

How I Can Help You

I consider the therapist/client relationship sacred and personal. I believe that the relationship and dynamics in the therapy room are of the most essential mediums for change. With this, I bring immediacy to my engagement with clients. Using immediacy means that clients can expect for me, at times, to reveal how I am feeling in response to them. This approach focuses attention on the here-and-now relationship of therapist and client with intentional timing to challenge defensiveness and/or heighten awareness of patterns of relating to others outside the therapy room. If you are looking to process trauma, I am trained in and use a modality called Narrative Exposure Therapy.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

As a non-binary trans-masculine clinician, I am dedicated to helping clients who are transgender, non-binary, agender, gender expansive, or clients who are questioning their gender identity. Understanding that so many of us have been harmed by the medical system (including therapists), I first and foremost strive to create a therapeutic relationship that feels safe and welcoming. Secondly, I am passionate about guiding my clients through their journey with gender: establishing a strong sense of self, coming out, dealing with challenging family responses and dynamics, considering or maintaining physical interventions to treat dysphoria, navigating educational and medical systems or/or workplaces, learning to cope with and exist within a cis and heteronormative society. Thirdly, it is essential that my clients feel as though their gender IS NOT a problem to be solved and is not the sole focus of therapy.

Techniques I Use

Specialties

  • Family Therapy External link

    My training at Lewis and Clark Graduate School was grounded in family therapy through a social justice lens. I work with couples, families and individuals from a relational framework, this means seeing a person as a culmination of the relationships and social systems that they are and have been a part of. I consider family of origin, dysfunctional cycles, self in the context of a family unit, attachment development, intersecting identities, diagnosis (if desired), and much more.

  • Couples Counseling External link

    I work with couples of all genders and sexual orientations to overcome barriers to healthy connection through a blend of Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy, Queer Theory, and the Gottman Method. "EFT focuses on emotions and emotional communication in relationships and their influence on patterns of interaction. It also recognizes emotion as a powerful agent of change rather than simply part of the relationship problem."

  • Cognitive Behavioral (CBT) External link

    My approach to healing is rooted in an ecosystemic, social justice framework. This means that when working with individuals, couples, or families, I am considering how each individual person’s context, culture and relationship dynamics impact their thoughts, perspectives, emotions, behaviors, and symptoms. To find healthier ways of processing, CBT focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns and behaviors.

  • Motivational Interviewing External link

    MI is a counseling approach designed to help people explore and resolve ambivalence about behavior change. It's particularly effective in addressing addictive behaviors, but it's also used to address a variety of "stuck" and/or problematic ongoing behaviors. In MI, we focus on exploring your values, goals, and concerns.

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • Anxiety External link

    Anxiety stems from many places, most often occurring when we feel and perceive that we are out of control of all certain aspects of our lives. I feel confident in helping clients observe the triggers of their anxiety, understand how to listen to their body and the messages anxiety is trying to tell them, and hence feel more in control and able to withstand the discomfort that anxiety brings.

  • Gender Identity External link

    Gender identity and gender exploration is the main focus of my work. I have experience working with children, teens and adults who are questioning their gender, going through gender transitioning, or just needing a safe space to discuss life as a gender non-conforming person. I have received academic training on working with gender non-conforming folks as well as my personal life experience.

  • Relationship / Marriage Issues External link

    As a Marriage and Family Therapist Associate, my training and practice are heavily rooted in relationship dynamics of all kinds, from family of origin, to romantic relationships, to friendships, to relationship with ourselves. I enjoy working with couples and families as well as individuals who are struggling with, or are looking to strengthen their relationships.

Contact Jaxon

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