Charley

Hi, I’m Charley! I am a white queer & trans person with dynamic disabilities - I come to this work after years spent working to support those who have slipped through the cracks as a community organizer, crisis support person, and mediator. Community is very dear to me, and I try my best to uphold decolonial and liberatory values across my life and my work with clients - I am interested and invested in unfolding the various nuances that make each of us unique, and in prizing those elements often devalued by the dominant culture.

I take a holistic and person-centered approach that values your lived experience and bodymind as sources of strength and brilliance - my style is engaged and approachable, and I view counseling as an opportunity to work as a team to support the growth you’re looking for. Therapy can be incredibly vulnerable, and it is my goal to always approach our time together with empathy, honesty, and curiosity - I welcome your passion, your grief, your rage, your humor, and your mess!

I am currently a third year student in the clinical mental health counseling master’s program at Portland State University. I am passionate about supporting queer and trans individuals, sex workers, people with disabilities, survivors, individuals navigating substance use, and those in nontraditional relationships (polyamory, non-monogamy, BDSM). I bring a combination of my own lived experiences in these areas as well as professional experiences supporting individuals holding various intersecting identities outside of my own - if you’ve ever felt like who you are is “too much”, I want to work with you! 

I recognize the ways in which traumatic experiences can disconnect us from various aspects of ourselves as well as our communities - part of our work together can be restoring and healing those relationships, and I invite your spirituality, cultural practices, and ancestral connection to our space together.  Finding a therapist can be a heavy lift - if I sound like a good fit to you, I encourage you to reach out!