Portland Therapy Center
Jeff Guenther

Jeff Guenther (he/him)

Licensed Professional Counselor

LPC

I help people who feel anxious in relationships stop feeling anxious in relationships.

Client Status

not accepting clients

Contact

503.422.9731

811 E. Burnside St. #217

Portland, OR 97214

Email Website

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $60-$150

Provides free initial consultation

Provides telehealth services

Practicing Since: 2005

Languages: English

Services

  • Individual

Insurances Accepted

  • Out of Pocket
  • Out of Network
  • Aetna
  • Cigna
  • PacificSource
  • Providence Health Plan
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My Ideal Client

Have you been bouncing from relationship to relationship repeating the same tired patterns over and over again? Do you feel like it’s impossible to find someone who’s a good match for you? You must be exhausted and burnt out on the dating scene. I get it. It’s bananas out there. Therapy can provide you insight into how to get out of this rut. I look forward to working together and helping you find clarity so that you can grow.

My Approach to Helping

Many clients believe it is the therapist’s job to make them feel better. While feeling better may be the outcome of counseling, it is not always the case in every situation. The therapist’s main role is to help the client feel the emotion more clearly and to perhaps provide insight as to why it is surfacing so intensely. Individual therapy is a safe place to experience emotions, no matter what they are or how they manifest. It may seem counterintuitive to think of therapy as not making you feel better, but if one can fully allow and accept an emotion without duress (which can prompt unhealthy or destructive reactions), then one can learn to handle stronger emotions in the future. If a client develops the capacity to endure intense negative emotions, then a process of normalizing and desensitizing occurs, thereby reducing the tendency to react and/or take action against uncomfortable feelings.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

I have a very strong background in family and couples work. I received my master’s degree in marriage and family therapy from the University of Southern California, and my bachelor’s degree in child and family development from San Diego State University. Prior to going into private practice, I worked in the public school system providing individual, group, and family therapy to high-risk students. I also taught parenting classes on a regular basis. My therapeutic career started out at a crisis line here in Portland, where I mainly worked with people who were suffering from suicidal thoughts and severe anxiety. I have lived in Portland since 2005 and the bulk of my work focuses on seeing couples and individuals in my private practice.

Techniques I Use

Specialties

  • Narrative  External link

    Narrative therapy is my favorite therapeutic orientation. It’s the treatment that I study the most and find very compelling. I often observe the most improvement in clients when I use this type of counseling. Introducing new ways of thinking and believing can be a tricky thing but with the training and passion I have for it I often times see success.

  • Psychodynamic  External link

    I am a classically trained therapist and I specialize in psychodynamic theory. Psychodynamic theory was a focus of mine all through graduate school and I use this theory as a lens into understanding where behaviors, unhealthy and healthy, start from and how they have been reinforced through your lifetime. With a clear understanding of where you come from we can work together to unravel rooted behavior.

  • Cognitive Behavioral (CBT) External link

    My approach to counseling is modern and scientific and that is why I tend to use cognitive behavioral therapy in my sessions. I am able to provide you with many tools and techniques to deal with the problem in the here and now. Together we will influence your current way of thinking into something that feels more neutral or positive. There are many CBT interventions that I am able to employ.

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • Codependency External link

    Studying codependent relationships and personalities has always been the most interesting part of psychology to me. How people become attached in relationships and when it tips into an unhealthy or toxic attachment is what I specialize in. Much of my expertise come from studying relationships in graduate school where I obtained a masters in marriage and family therapy.

  • Self-Esteem External link

    Self-esteem can be a tricky issue to address. There are many things that can be affecting it. I am very proficient at working with clients to explore all possible reasons your self-esteem, self-worth or confidence feels low. If it's situational we will figure out how to move through it and if it's rooted in past experience we will bring it to the surface and learn how to leave it in the past.

  • Relationship / Marriage Issues External link

    I have a masters degree in marriage and family therapy. My training in couples counseling best fits couples that have been together a shorter time and would like to steer clear of repeating old unhealthy habits from past relationships. I see many couples that would like premarital counseling or couples that are newly married and experiencing some road bumps in their relationship.

  • Adjustment Disorder External link

    Adjustment issues that I typically treat in my practice are adjusting to life after a break up or divorce, adjusting to your new environment after college and adjusting to moving to a new city and settling in after a big move. Many of my clients are new transplants here to Portland and are in need of some support while they settle into town.

  • Anxiety External link

    Anxiety is the issue that I treat the most in my practice. I provide my clients with tools and techniques that they can carry with them for the rest of their lives and pull from whenever they feel anxious. I am proficient at using cognitive behavior methods to provide coping strategies, using a narrative therapy approach to create mindfulness and non-attachment to your triggers while also addressi

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