Trauma-informed therapy with an anti-oppressive lens
Work with a licensed therapist to create positive change in yourself and your relationships through proactive counseling that honors your autonomy, worldview, and lived experience.
Deborah Ranker
Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Hello and welcome
I’m Deborah (she/her). I’m a licensed clinical social worker located in Portland, Oregon. My style as a therapist is relational, collaborative, and proactive. Our work together can help you transcend negative self-beliefs, address insecurities and past traumas, understand yourself better, and overcome challenging symptoms that are getting in your way.
I offer individual counseling to people who are 18 and older. I draw from a number of therapeutic modalities in my practice, including EMDR, Nonviolent Communication (NVC), mindfulness, and traditional talk therapies.
I can support you to cultivate self-compassion, develop healthy coping skills, learn effective communication tools, and build confidence to change patterns and heal.
I hold social justice values and strive to be culturally humble in my practice. If my approach resonates with you, we can schedule a free consultation to explore working together.
Are any of these issues preventing you from fully enjoying your life and relationships?
Do you often berate yourself with messages like: “I’m such an idiot,” “I’m worthless,” or “I can’t do anything right”?
Do you find yourself repeating patterns in your life that don’t seem to change, even though they don’t make sense to you?
Have other people told you that you just need to have a more positive attitude and get exercise, and your problems will go away — but you’ve tried, and it didn’t work?
Do you find that you often give too much in your relationships and don’t feel cared for in return?
Do you feel so bothered by your past or worried about your future that it’s hard for you to be present for your life right now?
Together we can support your recovery in these areas:
Anxiety
Depression
Self-judgment
Codependency
Relationship problems
Body and identity issues
Trauma
Grief
Spiritual abuse (cults)
PTSD
Extreme empathy
Systemic oppression
Anti-oppressive approach to therapy
The field of psychotherapy, like many social institutions, has a lot of work to do when it comes to addressing various forms of systemic oppression. I started Portland Collaborative Therapy in hopes of creating a healing environment that is sensitive to power dynamics and honors the wisdom and autonomy of those seeking services.
While I’m happy to share what I’ve learned with you, I see you as the expert on your own experience, and I want to work collaboratively with you to achieve your goals on your own terms.
I strive to be culturally humble, anti-racist, trauma-informed, weight-inclusive, and LGBTQIA2+ affirming in my practice, and in my life. However, because I am human, I know I will inevitably have blind spots. I won’t always get things right, and I am committed to being accountable when I get things wrong. I will also try to be transparent with you about things I don’t know, as no therapist has all the answers.
Location
Virtual and In-Person Visits Available. Due to licensing restrictions, all clients must be physically in Oregon to attend virtual appointments.
My office is located in Portland’s inner eastside neighborhood. There is paid street parking available on Burnside Street and free 2-hour street parking available in the surrounding blocks. Bus lines 6, 12, 19 and 20 run nearby. The Portland Street Car is a 6-minute walk away as well.
The building offers gender neutral restrooms, but it is unfortunately not ADA accessible. There is one flight of stairs to climb to reach my office suite, and no elevator. Please reach out if you have any specific accessibility needs or requests before our appointment.
Address
811 East Burnside Street, Portland, OR 97214
Hours
Tuesday through Friday, by appointment only
Contact
(503) 308-8106 • hello@collaborativepdx.com