Karen R Harris Counseling Virtual and In-person Sessions

Welcome!

I am a licensed professional counselor intern offering therapy services in Oregon City, OR. I am currently seeing clients both in person and via telehealth.
I specialize in providing a safe environment for personal growth and exploration to address a multitude of issues you or your child may be facing in life right now.

My therapy approach speaks to the interconnectivity between your emotions, body, habits, thoughts and beliefs, as well as all the roles you fill in life. I have an existential orientation where finding meaning and purpose is such an important part of feeling contentment.

Healing-Connection-Awareness

Connection between therapist and client is the heart of therapy and you
should feel safe and comfortable sharing your story. Growing your awareness is the most powerful way for you to make the changes you want to see.
Knowing your conscious and unconscious processes, creating healthy inner dialogue,
and having full access to your own wisdom is the key to
healing past traumas and current struggles.
I use an intuitive sense and connection to assist me in hearing and understanding
you better. Your body is a major communicator and when we use somatic approaches,
I can help you access your body's own wisdom and knowing to
help bring experiential clarity to your self-awareness. Clients find somatic approaches very powerful in their journey of healing.
Another method I use is called parts work. "Part of me wants to do this, but this other part of me wants something else". We all have parts of ourselves communicating inside us to maintain a perceived comfort in our daily life. Externalizing the many parts within you assists us in seeing another type of inner wisdom you possess. This is not to be confused with mental illnesses involving hearing voices or hallucinating. These normal parts within us are always communicating to protect us, help us fit in, help us get through pain, etc. Facilitating that inner dialogue, I work with you to identify your parts and see the ways they relate to each other which allows you greater understanding of self and access to power you have to change the things you want to change.

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“Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” ~ Brené Brown

What types of clients do I see?

I see Teens, Children, Individuals & Couples

struggling with a variety of issues, including:

anxiety/depression
body connection
burnout & compassion fatigue
highly sensitive people & empaths
grief and loss
military, veterans, & military-connected family members

*Please see my areas of specialty pages for more detailed information

Why go to counseling?

Health and Well-being

Everyone must learn to take care of their self. It is absolutely vital in this world of balancing our lives of work, family, health, friends, etc. Life makes demands of us and we set expectations to keep up with the demands. I can help you process those tornadoing topics and can help you create life goals so that you can feel like you are headed in the direction you want to go.

Stressful life events

Finding ways to survive when our daily lives are thrown into chaos is often a reason people seek counseling services. When we don't know how or why certain life events cause our whole body to experience symptoms that we just can't bear for much longer, it can be helpful to seek counseling services. When we know that big changes are coming and we begin to feel a type of sickness inside us as we question how we will make it through the changes, seeking counseling services is often comforting.

Reaching life milestones

The term "mid-life" may mean different things to different people but there are very real mental & emotional changes that are experienced in our late 30's and early 40's. Re-evaluating the direction you're going, looking at the past decisions you've made and wondering if you are stuck with that plan you made years ago are among them. Maybe you are thinking about breaking a mold and changing things up in a big way? Or maybe life is doing that for you and you are losing things to hold on to? Maybe you need to draw boundaries in your life? I can help.

Working with me

Whatever you bring in will be met with warmth, curiosity, and openness.
I take a humanistic approach to counseling which includes using interventions
from existential therapy, internal family systems, mindfulness-based practices, somatic experiencing,
narrative therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy when needed. I also am trained in EMDR which is a great tool for reprocessing traumatic memories and fears.

Hearing what is difficult to say, I communicate with the part of you that feels refreshed
to be heard, understood, and accepted.
I help clients to find meaning, know their processes, establish boundaries, connect to their body,
and explore how thoughts, feelings, and beliefs affect their choices and
the consequences that follow.