Hi! I’m Shelby Houston (she/her). I’m a Professional Counseling Associate registered with the State of Oregon and a Nationally Certified Counselor with the National Board for Certified Counselors. When someone comes to counseling it’s because they want something to change. I believe change happens by trying to be who we are rather than trying to be different.
 

Contemporary relational Gestalt therapist trained in Emotionally Focused Therapy, Polyvagal Theory, and Cognitive Processing Therapy. As a counselor I see myself as a fellow traveler with clients on their path towards wholeness. I use a relational, client-led approach to help clients navigate life transitions, relationship concerns, explore issues of identity, and to find themselves again after difficult life experiences. My therapy style is centered around gaining

awareness of how our relationships and environment guide the way we relate to the world, and learning new ways to identify choices we have available to us now to live life richly and authentically.

I’m committed to honoring clients’ autonomy, intersecting identities, and the culturally-sensitive aspects of their experience. I create space to examine power and I promote client choice and solicit feedback throughout the counseling process. I value making contact with clients at areas of difference because I believe it’s only in this contrast that a person finds themself. Similarly, I believe it’s important to have space to embody, explore, and learn about core aspects of the human experience, including sexuality and gender. I consider myself a sex positive, kink allied counselor, and I value gender, sexual, relational, and affectional diversity. By acting as a curious and non-judgmental other, I can help clients explore and accept all parts of themselves.

I earned a Master of Counseling degree from Oregon State University. I have received training in the practice of gestalt therapy through Gestalt Therapy Associates Los Angeles, and I receive ongoing training and supervision in this modality. I earned a Master of Public Health from Creighton University, giving me transferable knowledge of prevention and health promotion that I bring with me into my clinical work. I have engaged in professional counseling research in the topic areas of sizeism, kink, and neuroscience-informed approaches.
My professional experience includes working with children, teens, adults, and families in community mental health settings.

About me:
Salient identities in my social location include white, able-bodied, middle-class, bisexual, and cisgender female. In my free time I enjoy running, weight lifting, biking, yoga, reading, music (watching or playing), going to the dog park, spending time with loved ones, and general adventuring. Those closest to me have described me as a compassionate, enthusiastic, playful, and authentic individual. I try to be a force for good in my daily life.

Treatment areas I work with include:
​

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Trauma

• Anger

• Life/developmental transitions

• Relational issues

• Sex and sexuality

• Self-esteem/Self-worth

• Personal growth

• Boundary setting

• Issues related to identity
   

Therapy Modalities

• Contemporary relational gestalt therapy

• Emotionally Focused Therapy

• Polyvagal Theory

• Cognitive Processing Therapy