Paris Courtney
Associate
Pronouns: She/They
Identities: Queer, Genderfluid, Neurodivergent, Artist
Therapeutic Style: Warm, Relational and Affirming
Works with:
- Individuals
- Couples
- Child/Family
- Teens
- Adult Family
Who I am as a Therapist
As a therapist I utilize the art-making process to support my clients in working through their feelings, conflicts, distress, or celebrations to better support themselves and their emotions. Art as a process intervention shows the creator explanations and answers that can be difficult to access with language. Art therapy is rooted in social justice advocacy so I incorporate a systemic understanding of the world we live in through a lens informed by Radical Queer Theory and Intersectional Feminism.
I am passionate about the work that I do in a personal way, having grown through my own art therapy, as well as in my professional sense. There is no need to be an artist to work with an art therapist, and no requirement of having ever explored art making before. Art therapy is entirely about focusing on the process, the exploration, and finding meaning in the making; rather than creating a product. As a Queer person myself I am extremely passionate about working within my own community, exploring topics of gender identity and expression, including euphoria and dysphoria, polyamorous people and families (with or without kids), chosen family, and many more topics under the Queer umbrella.
I am also extremely passionate about working with kids of all ages and have spent much of my life working in daycares, kindergartens, summer camps, and even the kids’ garden club at a Farmers’ Market.
My goal as a therapist is to provide a person-centered approach to best support my clients in corrective healing experiences, unconditional positive regard, and a judgment free space. I believe my clients know themselves and their experiences better than anyone else, they are the experts on themselves in the therapeutic room. I am there to support and provide compassionate affirmation through expressive art and talk therapy practices.
“Art can permeate the deepest parts of us, where no words exist.”- Eileen Miller
Specialty Areas
Mental Health Challenges
-
Activism & Burnout
- ADHD
- Anxiety
- Attachment & Relational Challenges
- Behavioral Challenges in Children
- Consensually Non-Monogamous Relationships
- Cultural & Systemic Oppression
- Depression
- Gender transitions
- Grief and Loss
- Identity Development
- LGBTQIA+
-
Life Transitions
- Neurodiversity
- Parenting
- Postpartum Depression
- School Issues
- Sexual Abuse
- Sexual Health
- Trauma Recovery (PTSD & Abuse)
- Women’s Issues
Therapeutic Approaches
- Anti-Racist Trauma-Informed Care (ARTIC)
- Art Therapy
- Attachment Based Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Emotionally Focused Therapy
- Feminist therapy
- Mind-Body / Somatic
- Mindfulness
- Narrative
- Relational Therapy
- Solution-Focused Therapy
- Transgender Affirming Care
Who I am when I’m not a Therapist
When I am not being a therapist, I am often spending time with my partner and our three cats (yes, as a matter of fact, it is a lot of cats!), or spending time outside, especially when it’s sunny! As a Virgo I love to plan a little picnic whenever I can!
Education
-
Master’s in Art Therapy from Lewis & Clark College,
Portland, OR
-
BA in Art Practices with a minor in Psychology from Portland State University
Training & Experience
- Previously worked in daycare and kindergarten settings for several years, and later spent 8 years working at an arts summer camp teaching ceramics to 5-14 year olds
- I have completed trainings around trauma-informed Art Therapy services, as well as the ASIST Suicide Intervention Training
- I have completed courses and trainings on working with Non-Monogamous couples and clients as well as trainings and experience working with BDSM and Kinky clients