Douglas Johns, LCSW
Portland, Oregon
503-252-3739
Counseling &
Therapy ~ Portland, Oregon
Douglas Johns, LCSW
Psychotherapy means engaging
with the human mind, soul and heart to increase joy and
decrease suffering. Psychotherapy attends to the vast
experience and expression that is any human life. It
addresses both the joy and suffering of human experience.
Pyschotherapy is the art of human relating. It is the safe
realtionship that is created in therapy that facilitates
human change. For more detailed information on my practice
of counseling and psychotherapy please continue reading
below. Please click on the following link for information
on what to expect in a counseling
therapy session.
I have a working definition of psychotherapy: Giving people
a different experience of themselves in relationship.
Quality psychotherapy or counseling is a process by which
people experience themselves in new ways and develop skills
for living more creatively and adaptively. In this sense
psychotherapy is about cultivating skillful living.
Moreover, it is about learning to stay present with oneself
to generate these skills internally. The process may be
both exciting and uncomfortable but it is the safe and
respectful experience of the counseling relationship that
encourages the transformations you want in your life.
Over forty years of research into the benefits of
counseling and psychotherapy has provided two important
conclusions. First, psychotherapy works. Most people report
success and satisfaction with their therapy experience.
Second, it's clear why psychotherapy works: It's the
relationship between client and therapist that's most
important in determining quality outcomes. Furthermore,
that's the evidence across all problem areas
(anger, depression, anxiety, ADD/ADHD, etc.).
What cultivates good client-therapist rapport?
Foundationally it is something called core conditions.
These conditions include how the client experiences the
therapist. For example, does the counseling relationship
feel emotionally safe? Can the client truly be her/himself?
Does the client experience respect and unconditional
acceptance from the therapist? Research has repeatedly
demonstrated that these relationship factors aren't just
nice, they are crucial to quality care. And most
importantly, these are always the client's experience of
the counseling relationship. This requires therapists to
actively cultivate feedback from clients to ensure the
relationship is helpful.
Although I have training in several psychotherapy
disciplines I primarily identify with two traditions that
are particularly compatible. The first is the
Existential-Humanistic perspective. The core counseling
conditions outlined above originated with this perspective.
The second is Zen Buddhism. I have been a formal student of
Zen Buddhism since 2002 but I have been interested in
Buddhist psychology since 1985. Both traditions emphasize
the importance of human experience in the present moment.
In our daily life, with all its complexity, it's easy to
become detached from our core experience and understanding
of self. Perhaps a traumatic life experience has deepened
this rift. My counseling method attends to the
client-therapist relationship and to the client's internal
relationship with her/himself. The cultivation of love
and compassion
for self is
structured and honed. Authenticity is emphasized as I
continually refine that process within myself and
facilitate the same for my client. Therapy is a shared
experience founded on deepening trust between people.
Please feel free to call me with any questions you have
about my counseling practice at 503-252-3739.
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