Natalie Mickola

I believe building a trusting therapeutic relationship can help people acknowledge and address the parts of their lives that have become barriers to authenticity and connection. As a therapist, my goal is to help you create a life that is fulfilling to you. With that said, it only feels fair that you also get to learn about the person you'd be building trust with:

I grew up and attended college in Wisconsin before relocating to Oregon in my early 20s. After a few years focused on work and travel, I completed my Master's program at Lewis & Clark Graduate School, where my education focused on mental health counseling, addictions, and eating disorders. This led to over 6 years of experience at an eating disorder residential program for adolescents. Outside of this, much of my prior work experience was with kids, pre-teens, and adults. In addition to eating disorders, I have supported clients with goals related to trauma, body image distress, depression, anxiety, grief, family challenges, emotional dysregulation, OCD, and other maladaptive behaviors and patterns.

To me, therapy is about providing a support that others in your life likely cannot. It’s about having a place where you can come, be yourself, and use the space to explore the thoughts/feelings that you may not feel comfortable expressing outside of therapy. Whether your goals are about healing or changing, therapy can be that extra tool to help you figure out how to get there. I value being that person to hold space for you and your emotions. It’s hard enough managing our life stressors day-to-day sometimes, but as you add up the other challenges that are often out of our control (past trauma, systems of oppression, diet culture, social media, societal messaging, imbalances in the brain, etc.), moving forward and making change can feel impossible. I think everyone could benefit from having that extra support, and I’m proud to be that person.

I highly value relationships and trust. I understand the vulnerability you’re offering every time we’re in sessions together, and I will put in the effort for us to get to know each other so you don’t feel like you’re doing this work alone. I’ll be honest with you, even [at times] when you don’t want to hear it. I believe a strong therapeutic relationship is necessary to explore openly and deeply in a way that feels safest for you, which will ultimately help you in reaching your goals.

I love a sense of humor and definitely use this in therapy, especially to build relationships. If you have a strong, bold personality, I want to see that in therapy. I never want this to be a space where you feel like you need to hide parts of yourself. Bring the sarcasm, bring the sass. We can always find a balance between the comfort and the hard stuff. If you’re someone who tends to be more quiet, no problem there either. The point is for you to show up as you are.

There is no wrong way to be. When we're in sessions together, I want you to feel you can be your most honest self. If your goals are also about connecting deeper with yourself, feeling better about yourself, or expressing yourself more authentically, just know, I am fully in support of this.