Collette Portner

My name is Collette, I am Licensed Professional Counselor, I have been a counselor for 3 years and licensed recently. I believe knowing a little about the person you plan to build a therapeutic relationship with is crucial in creating comfort and trust.My path to becoming a therapist was shaped by both education, life experience and let me add that I have a lot of life experience. I returned to school at 25 while raising my children, staying committed to my goal of helping others through the field of mental health. These experiences have given me a unique perspective on resilience, growth, and the challenges many people face while trying to move forward in life. I also feel my life experience plays a huge part in my success with connecting with people.

I enjoy woking with adolescents, young adults and seniors who are navigating relationship challenges, attachment wounds, self-esteem concerns, and major life transitions.

Many of my clients are women exploring their identity through different stages of womanhood, including motherhood, career changes, relationship shifts, and personal growth.

I want to help you achieve the goal you have in your mind. The base of my approach is Person Centered Therapy then adding skills from CBT/ACT/DBT/IFS. I believe in meeting people where they are, normalizing and validating their experiences, and working together to create meaningful goals and purposeful change. Therapy can be both supportive and engaging and include laughter, and I want to make the process a positive and empowering experience. I welcome humor and believe it can be part of the healing process!

What fuels my soul? Working with teens! Why? Well I find that teens often feel they are constantly being told how to feel and act and in therapy we step away from that. Instead of trying to make feelings such as sadness, anger and anxiety go away we focus on exploring those feelings and working through them to help them build onto these skills to use later on in life.

If you are in your twenties or the thick of the thirties and thinking about exploring therapy this is a great place to start. You may be questioning who you are, what you want, or whether you're falling behind everyone else. Between career decisions, changing relationships, family expectations, social media, and the pressure to "have it all together," it's easy to lose sight of yourself. My goal isn't to tell you who you should become. It's to help you discover who you already are, build confidence in yourself, and move toward a life that feels authentic.

You can expect a welcoming, judgment-free space where you don’t have to have everything figured out. We’ll talk about your goals, your strengths, and what has or hasn’t been helpful for you in the past. I’ll also explain how therapy works and collaborate with you to create a plan that feels realistic and meaningful.We will spend the next 5-6 sessions organically building a therapeutic relationship.