Portland Therapy Center
Francis Aurora Otto

Francis Aurora Otto (they | she)

Licensed Professional Counselor

MA, LPC, RSMT/E

I'm a Somatic Psychotherapist for people who want more nourishing relationships. I help unwind trauma and reweave the patterns that limit.

Client Status

accepting clients

Contact

503-309-3142

215 NE 60th Ave

Portland, OR 97213

215 NE 60th Ave

Portland, Oregon 97213

Email Website

At a Glance

Me

Rate: $150-$200

Provides free initial consultation

Provides telehealth services

Practicing Since: 2013

Languages: English

Services

  • Individual
  • Relationship

Insurances Accepted

  • Out of Pocket
  • Out of Network
  • Kaiser
  • OHP CareOregon/HealthShare

My Ideal Client

I offer an embodied and relational healing process for people seeking more nourishing relationships. Most of our relationship patterns develop as adaptations to early attachment dynamics and trauma. As a body-oriented and attachment-based therapist, I help people change and transform from the inside out. It's change you can feel.

My Approach to Helping

I offer a gentle and collaborative approach to help heal the deep hurts that hold us back. Each one of us has adapted to our life circumstances as best we can. The patterns we learn are rooted in our early relationships and in our body. These patterns are deep and precede words. Together, I help you attune to, unwind, and rewire these patterns. In each session, I offer simple and effective homework practices to support your healing process. My goal is to help you cultivate more resilience, ease, and wholeness in your relationships and in your life.

My Personal Beliefs and Interests

I am a 4th generation Portlander who's experienced the city go through a lot of change. I have a Master's Degree from Naropa University in Somatic (Body) Psychology and Movement Therapy. For the past 20 years, I have worked as a counselor and therapist with experience in community-based addictions and mental health treatment. I have also been a performer and child play specialist. Over the past 18 years, I have played with over 20,000 children. This unique perspective and experience has taught me how to heal adults. Along with this, I bring extensive training in Interpersonal Neurobiology (the brain science of relational healing), Body-Mind Centering® (the embodiment of developmental change), Biodynamic Cranial Therapy (a gentle approach to unwinding trauma), and Biomechanics (the science of healthy alignment and movement). My goal is to help you have more nourishing relationships in your life.

Techniques I Use

Specialties

  • Attachment Theory External link

    Our earliest relationships form the templates for how we interact and what we expect from others. These patterns live in our body and in the ways that we engage with (or avoid) others. Over the past 10 years, I have learned how to recognize and work with individual attachment styles and relationship patterns through my in-depth studies with Bonnie Badenoch, PhD, LMFT.

  • Somatic Therapy (Body Centered) External link

    Somatic refers to the lived experience of the body. Not just having a body, but living in a body. As all our patterns are grounded in our body, we won't just talk about what's going on. Instead, we'll attend to how your body has uniquely adapted to your life. We'll focus on sensations, feelings, and movements in helping you find your greater wholeness.

  • Relational  External link

    Just as the patterns that hold you back were wired within your earliest relationships, they only transform when met with gentleness and care. Understanding the neuroscience of relationship can help you understand and transform your challenges.

Issues I Treat

Specialties

  • Relationship / Marriage Issues External link

    Our current struggles are often rooted in our earliest attachment relationships. These early patterns live in our body, in how we perceive and interact. By attuning to these patterns in a collaborative and compassionate way, we can learn how to rewire them and discover renewed resilience and ease.

  • PTSD External link

    Traumatic experiences are overwhelming and leave lasting impact. The most impactful aspect is feeling alone with what you've gone through. Together, I work to gently meet and attend to what it's been like for you and help to regulate these feelings so they don't take over and derail your life.

  • Anxiety External link

    The body let's us know how it's doing through feelings of anxiety, fear, and panic. By learning how to attend to and care for these feelings, we can re-pattern how we respond to the circumstances of our life, which are often unpredictable. Empathy and body attunement are the tools we use here.

  • Chronic Pain or Illness External link

    Having gone through Lyme Disease, I understand the invisible suffering of chronic pain and illness. There is the condition you suffer and the fact that many people do not perceive or believe your experience. I work to support with all aspects of your what you are going through.

Contact Francis Aurora

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