Sivers, Counselor in Portland, 97213

Colleen Burke-Sivers, MA

Profession(s):
Counseling Psychology, Psychotherapy, Mental Health Counseling
License Status:
I'm a registered professional.

My Approach to Helping

My approach to therapy is relationship-based. Essential to a successful experience in counseling is a trustworthy and genuine relationship between therapist and client. I offer the safety, compassion, empathy and honesty that you need to be able to explore those difficult and tender areas of pain, confusion, hurt, and vulnerability. I will accompany you in an exploration of your relationship with yourself, those closest to you, and with the entire human family as we sort out what gets in the way of your enjoyment of life or fullfilment. I will be guided by your agenda and goals. Together,we undertake to discover the attitudes, beliefs, or behavioral habits that are standing in the way of your natural desire to change, grow, relate to others, and to reach goals. I draw from existential, psychodynamic, and humanistic theories and I strive to make the therapy match your needs. I have a particular knack for getting quickly to the heart of the issue and empowering you to make choices and changes.

More Info About My Practice

I run several groups, including, but not limited to: "Young adults in the Real World", Pregnant Women, Post-partum Women, and Self-esteem in Young Women. My rates for groups is $25-$30 per session. My individual, couples, and family rate is $80/session. I do not accept insurance, but do offer a limited sliding-fee scale if necessary.

What I Love about Being a Psychotherapist

I have always loved looking deeper into the human experience. I have never been a person to take things at face value or stay on the surface of life. I thoroughly enjoy accompanying people into deeper levels of themselves, helping them to understand what gives them purpose, meaning, and joy in their lives and how to overcome or slog through their pain and uncertainties. I find the therapeutic connection to be exhilarating as I am given permission to enter into the deeper layers of a person, all the while supporting them to move through struggles in order to shed old outgrown skins and become a happier, healthier version of themselves. After 17 years of doing this work, I am still amazed at people's resilience, creativity, courage, strength, and perseverance and that I get to be a part of their transformation as they so bravely make strides towards being more fully themselves.

Importance of the Client-Therapist Alliance

The relationship between client and therapist is crucial to the success of the therapy. As a client, be sure that you feel at ease with your therapist and that she or he is truly listening and "getting you". The relationship between you and your therapist is a fertile ground for understanding how you relate to others in your life, for receiving empathy and understanding that you have not found elsewhere, for repairing and healing hurt, and for trying out new understandings and behaviors. As a therapist, I have a unique ability to provide a comfortable, safe, and empathetic environment for you to explore difficult and painful issues, and to simply be heard and understood. As a human, I have life experience that includes early grief, trying times as a young adult, serious depression, difficult pregnancies and post-partum depression, parenting four children, working hard at a 21-year relationship, and an overall love of life and deep understanding of what makes me and other humans tick.

Services I Provide

Individual Therapy & Counseling
Marriage, Couples, or Relationship Counseling
Family Therapy
Group Therapy

Ages I Work With

Teens
Adults

Languages I Speak

English

Groups I Work With

Young adults (20-somethings), pregnant and post-partum women with depression, couples in transition, people with depression, anxiety, and bi-polar disorder.