We are hiring! Learn more

placeholder

Our Space

Family Ties Counseling Center

Family Ties Counseling Center is located in John’s Landing, off of Macadam Blvd on 333 S Flower St in South Portland. Two houses have been converted to cozy and safe therapy spaces, complete with hot tea and blankets!

Our Main Building

The Annex

Reception Area - Upper Level of Main Building

Rogers Office

Carl Rogers was a humanistic psychologist who posited that for a person to grow, they need an environment that provides genuineness, acceptance, and empathy. His notion of having unconditional positive regard for clients has influenced therapists for generations.

Satir Office

Virginia Satir, often coined “the mother of family therapy,” was a psychotherapist who advocated for the depathologizing of individuals by treating the whole family. She believed all people have an innate ability to grow, and that communication is paramount in families.

Bowen Office

Murray Bowen was a psychiatrist and professor who is considered one of the pioneers of family therapy, positing that families are emotional units that function as systems.

Imago Office

Imago therapy is a relational therapy used with couples to help conflict become opportunities for healing and growth, while nurturing bonding and mutual understanding.

The Beach Office

The Beach is a place where people go to relax and play. At FTCC, the Beach office is a dedicated sand tray room with hundreds of play figurines that can be used by both children and adults. 

Von Franz Office

Marie-Louise von Franz was a Swiss Jungian psychologist, scholar and author, best known for her psychological interpretations of fairy tales. 

Frankl Office

Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychiatrist, neurologist, author, and Holocaust survivor, is best known for his book “Man’s Search for Meaning.” His contributions to psychology include an emphasis on finding meaning in order to relieve suffering and focusing on the positive rather than staying entrenched in symptoms.

Cowlitz Group Space

The Cowlitz group space is named to acknowledge the ancestral land of the Cowlitz Tribe on which Family Ties Counseling Center sits. Moreover, we would like to acknowledge the Siletz, Grand Ronde, Clackamas, and all the American Indian and Indigenous Peoples who have been or have become a part of these lands in Oregon. Let this acknowledgement serve as a reminder of the genocide of Indigenous peoples and our present efforts to recognize, honor, reconcile, and partner with the people whose land and water we benefit from today.

Ainsworth Office

Mary Ainsworth was a developmental psychologist most known for her contributions to attachment theory, which guides much therapeutic work with intimate relationships and families.

Hollingworth Office

Letta Stetter Hollingworth was an American psychologist, educator, and feminist, best known for her contributions to the psychology of women and to education of “gifted” (a term she coined) children. 

Clark Office

Mamie Phipps Clark was a social psychologist whose work with the Doll Test provided scientific evidence on racial preference and discrimination, and whose findings were used in the 1954 Brown vs Board of Education case, ending racial segregation in schools.

Our Story

Family Ties Counseling Center was founded by us, Johanna and Jeremy Manalis, nearly a decade ago. We are a husband and wife team. Looking back, our first year of marriage was not all roses and sunshine, which is how our culture often likes to portray newlyweds. We fought long and hard that initial year. We were also taken by surprise because we both falsely thought that since we were couples therapists, we surely knew how to be married. We quickly learned that therapists also need therapy; unabashedly engaging in therapy became an essential tool for our family to get through these difficult times.

Over the years of growing our relationship and our family, many challenges have found their way into our lives. Challenges that could have easily broken and buried us as a couple and as a family. But they didn’t. They did the opposite: they taught us that if we take a risk to be vulnerable and lean into each other emotionally, we are stronger for it.

We created Family Ties Counseling Center because we were inspired to help other relationships and families learn to strengthen their connection through using their unique challenges as opportunities for growth and change.

So, we are saying that we have the perfect relationship and family, right? No way, that doesn’t exist. Do we still have struggles? Sometimes we do. But we are way more skillful in responding to them. We have each learned how to talk in such a way that invites the other person to listen. We know and understand our sensitive issues and do our best to treat them with care. We have learned what deeply nourishes the other and we each try to regularly give that to each other. Overall, we have discovered a rhythm of relating to each other that leaves us filled and satisfied.

Our team has grown to nearly 25 amazing human beings who are highly skilled professionals. We are proud of our strong reputation in the Portland area for improving the lives of the couples/relationships, families, and individuals we serve.

 

    Our Values

    Good Enough Parenting

    Our clients aim to accept that they will never be the perfect parent but strive to be a good enough parent.

    Prioritizing Connection

    Our clients prize closeness and connection within their relationships, even if it sometimes seems difficult or even impossible to do.

    Open to Change

    Our clients know somewhere deep inside them that it is possible for them to change. This causes them to take risks and be courageous in their healing and therapeutic journey. Because of this, our clients are typically highly motivated individuals, couples, and families who sense their own potential.

    Truth

    Much of the perpetuation of suffering in this world comes from the suppression of truth. Many of our clients specifically seek out safety and support to experience and express reality without distortion and to tear down falsehood.

    Inclusion

    Couples and families by nature are diverse and thus come in many different formations. We welcome everyone because ALL couples and families deserve to thrive.

    Willing to get Help

    This willingness is essential for the successful attainment of our client’s goals. They pay money and spend their precious time because they recognize that they can’t do it alone.

    Striving for Love & Respect

    Our clients value cultivating as much love and respect in the close relationships of their lives, even if they may be challenged to sometimes achieve it.

    Our Vision

    We envision a world where people enjoy greater emotional intimacy in their close relationships, where the perspective of family is broadened, and where marginalized populations are empowered  through gaining more equity.

    Our Mission

    We are a collaborative group practice that provides compassionate, affirming, and anti-oppressive care to serve and include all definitions of family. We believe in the strength of healing through relationships.

    Our Leadership Team

    Johanna Manalis

    Owner/Executive Director

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Jeremy Manalis

    Owner/Executive Director

    Pronouns: He/Him

    Diane McLendon

    MCFT Internship Program Director

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Erin Haley

    Clinical Director

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Kimmy Joyner

    Office Manager

    Pronouns: She/They

    Laurie Dotten

    Clinical Director

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Caitlin Wilpone-Jordan

    Director of Doctoral Training Program

    Pronouns: She/Her

    David Marks

    Clinical Director

    Pronouns: He/Him

    Shea Lowery

    Clinical Director

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Our Admin Team

    Renee Limon

    Intake Specialist

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Nyra Gaston

    Admin Specialist

    Pronouns: She/Them

    Laneate Vang

    Laneate Vang

    Intake Scheduler

    Pronouns: She/Her

    Kimmy Joyner

    Office Manager

    Pronouns: She/They