In-Person in Portland, OR 97239
Online in Oregon
I help people who've been running on empty come back to their bodies and their own sense of steadiness. Whether that shows up as anxiety, burnout, or the aftermath of a psychedelic experience that hasn't fully settled, my somatic and gestalt approach meets you where you actually are, not where you think you should be. If you're ready to stop overriding what your body already knows, reach out for a free consultation.
Client Focus
Session Format: Individual sessions.
Age Specialty: Adult
Languages: English
Treatment Approach
- Existential / Humanistic Therapy Encourages people to explore meaning, freedom, and authenticity in their lives. It focuses on personal growth and living in alignment with one’s values.
- Gestalt Therapy Encourages awareness of thoughts, feelings, and actions in the present moment. It helps people integrate different parts of themselves for wholeness.
- Ketamine-Assisted Therapy Combines low doses of ketamine with psychotherapy to treat depression, trauma, and anxiety. It can provide relief when other methods haven’t worked.
- Psychoeducational Therapy Provides education and coping tools about mental health conditions. It empowers clients with knowledge and practical skills.
- Somatic Therapy Helps clients notice how emotions are stored in the body. It uses breath, movement, and awareness for healing trauma and stress.
- Transpersonal Therapy Integrates spirituality and higher states of consciousness with psychology. It encourages growth beyond the individual self.
Approach Description: My approach blends somatic awareness, gestalt therapy, mindfulness, and transpersonal psychology. Rather than only analyzing what's happening, we work experientially, noticing sensation, posture, and pattern as they arise in real time. This lets change happen at a felt level, not just an intellectual one, so what you learn in session actually carries into your daily life.
Fees & Insurance
Fees
- Average Session Fee $200
- Affordable sliding scale therapy: apply if you may be eligible.
- When booking your free consultation with me, you can request a sliding scale rate. If we decide we're a good fit for working together and there is a sliding scale spot available in my practice, I will send you a form to complete, and based on that form I may be able to offer you a sliding scale rate for our sessions.
- Out of Network
Education & Credentials
Elyse Gardner, MA, LPCA LPCA
- Female
- License # R8511
- Licensed in OR
- Practicing Since 2023
Education: I hold a Master's in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling from Naropa University and a certification in Advanced Post-Traumatic Growth Somatic Therapy from Southwest Trauma Training, grounded in applied Polyvagal Theory, Gestalt principles, and embodiment.
Elyse Gardner, MA, LPCA Practice Details
Therapy Sessions
- Available In-Person in Portland, OR 97239
- Available Online for residents of Oregon
- Online Therapy Details: Teletherapy via HIPAA-compliant Zoom account
My practice is built around a simple premise: your body already knows more than your mind gives it credit for. Most of the people I work with are used to functioning at a high level, meeting deadlines, holding relationships together, showing up for everyone else, while quietly running on fumes. Somewhere along the way, staying capable started to mean overriding what their body was trying to tell them.
I work with three overlapping patterns. Some clients are caught in a cycle of pushing hard and crashing, unable to find a sustainable pace between achievement and collapse. Others have learned that staying steady in their relationships means setting their own needs aside, until they've lost touch with what those needs even are. And some are integrating a psychedelic or non-ordinary experience, something that opened up new understanding but hasn't yet translated into how they actually live day to day.
My clinical training draws on somatic and gestalt therapy, mindfulness, and transpersonal psychology, including a Master's in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling from Naropa University and a certification in Advanced Post-Traumatic Growth Somatic Therapy through Southwest Trauma Training. I also work as a psilocybin facilitator and educator through Right to Heal and InnerTrek, which shapes how I think about integration and non-ordinary states of consciousness.
In session, we slow down enough to notice what's actually happening in your body and mind, in real time, rather than only talking about your week after the fact. This isn't about following a script. You set the pace, and I meet you exactly where you are, whether that means processing grief, working through a stuck pattern, or simply learning to rest without guilt.
I offer a free 15-minute consultation to see if this feels like the right fit. You don't have to have the right words to start, that's part of what we figure out together.