Individual and Couples Therapist in Washington County, OR

Expert Guidance for Men Seeking Individual Therapy and Couples Seeking to Improve their Relationship. Call (503) 388-6611 for a FREE Consultation.

Couples therapy helps partners to understand relational patterns, build skills for dealing with conflict, and teaches couples how to communicate differently and more effectively. Many couples in Washington County, Oregon are dealing with the stresses of modern-day relationships. These couples are raising young children, working full-time, running a household, and doing their best to meet the needs of their partners.

Men often avoid seeking therapy and try to deal with their issues on their own. Individual therapy for men is a safe place to discuss the challenges and find solutions to the many problems men face. Douglas Counseling has been helping men in Washington County for several years to build better relationships and become better partners.

Couples Counseling in Washington County, OR

Today’s couples living in Washington County face growing challenges on a daily basis. Dealing with challenges is normal but allowing them to take over your relationship will only lead to more conflict and disconnection. Couples therapy offers a path forward where couples can be heard, address issues, and find new ways to connect. Couples who take part in relationship therapy are much more likely to find effective strategies for dealing with conflict. Couples therapy teaches couples a new way to deal with old problems and leads to stronger and more satisfying relationships.

Common Problems Couples Are Facing Today

Common issues couples in Washington County face include the following:

• Struggling to communicate effectively
• Stuck in Conflict
• Different parenting styles
• Feeling disconnected
• Lacking intimacy
• Dealing with different expectations

Dealing with differences in relationships is not unique as even the most successful couples face these challenges. If you’ve done your best to resolve issues in your relationship but feel stuck, don’t hesitate to get help. An experienced couples therapist is there to guide you through the complexities of communication, differences in parenting styles, and managing differing expectations.

How Couples Therapy Can Help

Couples therapy can cover a wide range of topics. Some of the areas marriage counseling often deals with includes the following:

• Improving communication
• Resolving conflict
• Rebuilding trust
• Boosting intimacy
• Navigating life changes
• Making new relationship agreements

If you are ready to take the journey from conflict to connection, contact us today to set up your free consultation. Please call (503) 388-6611 or get in touch online here.

Individual Therapy for Men

Are you struggling to connect with your partner? If so, you aren’t alone. Many men struggle in committed relationships largely because they weren’t trained to be the type of partner their spouse is looking for. Individual therapy for men in Washington County can help you learn the types of skills they never learned growing up. Men are often socialized to be stoic, independent, competitive and high-achieving. All these qualities have a positive place in men’s lives, but they aren’t very helpful in long-term relationships. Individual therapy for men provides an education for men on how to live more connected and relational lives with their partners.

Common Issues Addressed in Individual Therapy

Men face a multitude of challenges that can be dealt with in individual therapy. Most men value practical answers and solutions to the issues they face. Individual therapy for men at Douglas Counseling can help to provide you with answers, strategies, and common fixes to the following areas.

• Stress and anger management: Most men know that getting angry doesn’t work for them but have little understanding of where their anger comes from. Individual therapy helps men learn about the reasons they become angry and gives them tools to change the way they feel. If anger has been causing issues in your life or relationship individual therapy can help.
• Self-Esteem and Depression: Many men know they don’t feel good about themselves, yet few understand the reason why. Individual therapy for men helps men change the way they view themselves and allows them to build positive and healthy self-esteem.
• Relationship difficulties: Individual therapy for men often focuses on teaching men how to be more relational creatures. Most men didn’t see a healthy role model for being a husband or partner and need to learn real life strategies and mindsets to be better partners.
• Work-life balance: Finding a work-life balance feels like trying to hit a moving target. Men in today’s world feel pressure to excel in many areas including work, family, financial, friends, and more. Individual therapy takes these issues on and helps men clarity values, prioritize their time, and make healthy decisions to live more balanced lives.
• Transitions (fatherhood, career changes, etc.): Few things can prepare a man for what he faces when moving through life’s many transitions. Learning how to be a partner, a father for the first time, or making a mid-life career change are all extremely challenging. Individual therapy for men allows for a supportive space for men to express their struggles, brainstorm possible solutions, and get real strategies for what life throws their way.

Benefits of Individual Therapy

Individual therapy provides countless benefits to those who seek out help. The goal of individual therapy is to empower individuals to take on their challenges in new and more productive ways.

Benefits of individual therapy can include:

• Decreased anger
• Clarity on values and priorities
• Healthy self-esteem
• Better communication
• Healthy boundaries
• Relational Intelligence
• More empathy
• Improved mood
• Lessened anxiety

Our Approach to Therapy

Douglas Counseling approaches each individual or couple from a place of curiosity and understanding. We seek to learn more about the current struggles and gain clarity on what is keeping the person or couple stuck. Our Washington County therapists at Douglas Counseling will then collaborate with the client to develop a plan to take on the current issues and start the path towards finding solutions.

What to Expect in Therapy

Your first therapy session will include 3 main phases. First, your therapist will learn more about you. Your therapist will ask questions to learn more about your history, your current struggles, and what you have done to work on them. Next your therapist will help you to explore what you would want to happen at the end of the counseling process. Your goals will be processed and you and your therapist will gain clarity on what you consider to be a successful outcome. Towards the end of your therapy session your therapist will give you feedback about their ideas on why you are getting/staying stuck and will propose a plan to help you work towards successful completion of your goals. Your therapist will make recommendations including what will be worked on, how often you should attend sessions, and their estimation of what a course of therapy entails.

Our approach at Douglas Counseling is always to collaborate with the client. The client’s input and insights are critical to putting together a successful plan for therapy. At Douglas Counseling you are not a passive bystander with therapy but rather are at the heart of the healing process.

Client Testimonials and Success Stories from Washington County

Rick and Jen: “We had been fighting for several months and were on the verge of calling it quits. From our initial appointment we felt more at ease with Greg showing us why we had been stuck in conflict and then mapping out a plan to change. The work in therapy wasn’t easy, but we are so glad we stuck with it. Our communication has never been better, and we are so happy to have found Douglas Counseling to get use there.”

Shelia and Dave: “We came to therapy after the discovery of an affair. It was a terribly tough time for us both and we had no idea what to expect from therapy. The team at Douglas Counseling was great. From the phone consultation to the intake session and all the way through therapy they made us feel safe and taken care of. I’m not sure we would have stayed together without the help of the expert guidance we received. We are forever grateful.”

Client Success Stories

Story #1: Gina and Tom

This couple started couples counseling after years of struggling to connect and increasing conflict in their relationship. Both partners were new to Washington County and had been previously married. Both partners also had children from their previous relationships. This couple set goals for their counseling including improving communication, learning how to co-parent without conflict, and finding ways to rekindle their desire for each other.

The couple started to unpack reasons for conflict as their therapist showed them the current pattern that was keeping them stuck. The more Gina got upset and “nagged” Tom, the more Tom would shut down and distance himself from Gina. This couple was stuck in a common pursue-withdraw cycle that plagues many couples. The couples therapy uncovered that Gina had never gotten the support and help she needed and learned to “nag” as her only way of expressing her needs. The counseling also showed how Tom had a core belief that others will always be disappointed in him, so why would he try if he would certainly fail.

“I always thought Tom was just avoiding me because he didn’t care anymore, and that made me even more mad and frustrated.” “Couples counseling helped me to learn that Tom’s avoiding was really just his way of protecting himself from more disappointment.” “Knowing that helped me to approach him differently and made a huge difference in our communication.”

This couple attended 14 sessions and here is the feedback from their last session: “I wasn’t sure how much help we would get, but I was really surprised how much our counselor taught us.” “We learned practical skills including how to not take things so personally, how to build healthy self-esteem, and a model for talking to each other actually worked!” Gina said: “I’m happy we sought out counseling and our relationship is much better for it.” “We really appreciated how honest and direct our therapist was and could tell they had worked with couples with similar issues as us in the past.”

Story #2: Colin

Colin lives outside Tigard in Washington County and started individual therapy to work on dealing with his anger that was impacting his marriage, his job, and even his relationship with his adult children. Colin’s family had been pleading with him to get help for years, but he had been resistant thinking that counseling would only drudge up the past and wouldn’t offer real solutions in the present.

Early on Colin learned that his anger was just a symptom on the surface of a deeper and unexplored issue of feeling shame. Working with his individual therapist Colin quickly learned that he had learned to use anger as a defense against feelings of shame. Anytime his wife, boss, or even kids challenged or questioned him Colin would get upset and defend against feeling like a failure. With the help of his therapist Colin learned that his self-esteem needed an overhaul. Colin had been using unhealthy methods to feel worthy and good-enough since he was a kid. Colin stated: “I had no idea that my self-esteem was the root cause of my anger.” “I felt pretty successful in almost all areas of life and never made that connection until coming to therapy.”

Part of the work for Colin’s therapy was showing him how to think about himself and his actions in a new light. Towards the end of therapy Colin shared this thought: “Learning to think about myself in a new way hasn’t been easy, but even making some progress there has made a huge difference.” “My wife told me the other day that I have been so much more approachable and how she feels much less anxious during our talks.”

Colin is a great example of someone who has the ability to change and just needs some expert direction to get on track. While he was skeptical in the beginning, Colin gained a new appreciation for counseling and even referred us one of his close friends to work on similar issues. Colin’s story is not unique as Douglas Counseling has helped hundreds of men deal with anger and find the path to a healthier life. 

FAQs

Where are you located?

Douglas Counseling is Located in Lake Oswego in the Lake Grove area. The address is 16325 Boones Ferry Rd. Suite 209, Lake Oswego OR, 97035

What are your hours?

Our Hours are Monday – Friday 9am to 5pm

How many sessions will I need to attend?

The number of sessions is determined by where you are and where you would like to go. Most couples can expect a full course of therapy to last about 12 sessions. Individuals can usually expect to meet between 10-12 times.

How much do the sessions cost?

The initial 90-minute session cost is $220 and ongoing 60-minute sessions cost $180.

Do you take insurance?

We do not directly accept insurance. Keep in mind that most insurers will not reimburse for couples counseling as they don’t consider it a “medical necessity.” Individuals with “out of network” benefits for counseling are often able to submit a statement that Douglas Counseling can provide to be reimbursed for a portion of the therapy costs.

What’s the best way to schedule an appointment?

The best way to schedule a session is to call the office at Douglas Counseling at (503) 388-6611. You can schedule a session or set up a free consultation with one of our therapists.

Do you provide virtual appointments?

Yes, Douglas Counseling provides virtual appointments to all clients residing in Oregon. We use a secure telehealth platform for all of our online sessions.

About Washington County, OR

Washington County is a county in Oregon that is part of the greater Portland Metropolitan area. The county spans 726 square miles and is positioned to the west of Portland. The population of Washington County is 600,372 (according to the 2020 Census) with many couples living in the area. (Source: Wikipedia)

Washington County is a popular place for young couples and families. These young couples are facing many of the issues that come with committed relationships like raising children, working full-time, and finding time to connect and take care of themselves and their relationships.

Popular towns in Washington County include Beaverton, Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood, Cedar Hills, Hillsboro and Forest Grove.

Here are four important landmarks in Washington County, OR:

• Old Town Sherwood
• Washington Square Mall
• Henry Hagg Lake
• Tillamook State Forest

The Douglas Counseling Office is a short drive from the Washington County line which is just west of the office location.