Nancy Walker
Counseling for the Human Spirit
NANCY
WALKER
Welcome.
I want to commend you for taking a step forward towards the possibility of self discovery, growth and healing. Time after time, I have experienced counseling's ability to support clients in finding their authenticity and transforming their lives.
Please explore these pages to learn more about my message, my approach and my background. Your openness and trust are a privilege that inspires me.
It would be a gift and an honor to work together along your path towards happiness and well being.
DURHAM HOUSE SUITE 206 1012 SW KING AVENUE PORTLAND, OR 97205 For an Appt call: 971 242-4208
"I never thought counseling would be helpful for me, but Nancy changed my mind. Through talking, sandtray and creative therapy, I've now experienced the benefits of my sessions with her. I finally feel like I'm standing on firm ground instead of being helplessly lost. I would highly recommend working with Nancy. She is genuine and brings her human spirit to meet you -- sometimes there isn't any substitute for that one-on-one connection."
- Mey
“Nancy is always deeply interested in whatever is going on with me. She asks thoughtful questions and employs a number of creative processes that lead deeper in the process of discovery. Nancy is a warm, caring and committed. She engages with you in full presence, using her clarity of insight as much as her ready humor. The result is feeling deeply heard and seen, instilling a sense of trust that she is relating to you as a whole person without judgment.”
~ Jana
WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT
Life is rich and complex — and it can be challenging. By its very nature we are always breaking new ground. There is no formula, no rule book. We are each individual, unique works in progress: each life is a living sculpture. We also get stuck.
Over the years, I have noticed that all too often people will easily identify with their problems and neurosis but are less consciously aware of their gifts and talents. I've seen the most profound pain emanate from a fundamental sense of separation and aloneness. Clients consistently long for connection. They fear instability and look for purposeful meaning in their lives. Difficulties such as these, whether from a trauma or developmental wounding, can be navigated and re-membered. Wounds can be healed. Freedom restored.
Neurobiology tells us that when people tell their stories they cultivate a deeply felt, body-based feeling of security that we all need.
For anyone who has lived through experiences and relationships they can not make sense of; for anybody who has
learned to keep themselves small by veiling who they are, desensitizing how they feel; for anyone who feels that in order to survive,
their life needs to remain small whether that be through unfulfilling work, a mournful marriage, or any kind of addiction,
counseling can offer breakthrough and relief.
In the unique relationship between counselor and client, when met with compassion and free from judgement,
clients can feel more clearly the hidden beliefs and conclusions that they are carrying in their hearts and minds but try to push away for fear that they are either unacceptable or more than they can handle. When our experiences can be held, when we can be seen and heard by a another, yet spared the unhelpful intrusions of a self referential listening partner, that which has the power to subvert us if left unseen can instead be rendered invaluable. In the meeting with another our inner reality comes into conversation with external reality. The counseling relationship offers a space to discover that how we know ourselves to be can be known by another.
My aim and my commitment are to offer a place of safe belonging; to listen, respond and engage you in new ways that will
allow you to hear the answers that your questions and struggles hold. While there are no quick fixes, I bring an unwavering
curiosity towards what can be known, a deep reverence for what can only be felt, an unending respect and
steadfast love for each client’s personal process. Together we will grow hope and empowerment.
It may be difficult to imagine your life as a divine work of art, but that is indeed what it is.
The challenges, the hurdles, the disappointments; the gifts and the accomplishments all unfold as we proceed through life.
Ultimately it is our vulnerabilities and sensitivities, the very things we have learned to defend against, that make us able to know ourselves
and the world. As we repair and support our vulnerability, which is our most natural state, we begin to understand that rather than reflecting personal failure, our sensitivities are a gift of being human. It is in this way that we find our way through.
"Sometimes when you're in a dark place you think you've been buried...but you've actually been planted."
~Christine Caine
PROCESS
Where do answers come from? How can we develop the Self that knows?
MEANING MAKING
REFLECTS THAT WE ARE
CREATIVE BEINGS
As human beings we seek to make meaning. It belongs to us existentially. We have an innate sense of purpose that we wish to embody. As we learn to read our life story as both subject and object we can find our rightful place in it. We integrate themes from our past with our experience in the present so that we can move into the future with greater empowerment and sense of ownership. No matter the events or the characters in your life story, you are the one who can give meaning to and define the role that you play. A coherent story is the integration between our thinking and feeling. This is a path towards well being, proof of your resilience and creativity. In reflecting upon and re-membering your past
you create not just a coherent story, but a true, just and inspired way forward into the future that is calling you.
ALL PARTS ARE WELCOME
Distress reveals incongruity. Within the complexity of our being, parts of ourselves often make choices and act in ways that are not desirable or harmonious with the entire system. Because ALL parts are welcome, in our counseling process we are able to discover the often veiled elements of ourselves and the conflicts that live amongst them. We work not only with our literal minds, but with our senses, our feelings, and our intuition. As we befriend, untangle and unburden the various parts of ourselves, we can heal. Rather than acting blindly in unconscious and habitual ways, we move forward to align with the whole truth of our being.
As we begin to find calm, curiosity, clarity, compassion, we experience ourselves not only connected, but in relationship with our True Self.
SAYING YES
Staying present to what IS allows us to meet the truth of moment so that we can
move into the future with full awareness.
When we discover our equanimity we can begin to understand what belongs to us,
what we can let go of, and what is asking to be born. Through contemplative and embodied practice we build our faculties of awareness. With mindful awareness, we can use our attention to experience self and observe self. This aides integration. We grow our capacities and meet our inner expansiveness so that we can reach beyond the confines of our reactive self and our defenses to become our own North Star ⭐️
As we move toward greater awakening, we
meet our underlying goodness, the many possibilities before us and the all pervasive wisdom available to us.
"The winds of grace are blowing all the time - it is up to us to raise the sail."
~Ramakrishna
SERVICES
Ways We Work
Psychodynamic, IFS (Internal Family Systems), Biography work, Hakomi, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Psycho-Physical Therapy, Sandtray, Artistic & Expressive Exercises, Mindfulness and Meditation
FEES
1 hour $125
75 mins $150
I provide a compassionate and individualized approach to clients bringing questions and concerns of all kinds;
All genders, races, religions and abilities.
Areas of focus:
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Inner and outer conflict
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Transitions
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Feeling lost and finding center
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Owning your innate power and sovereignty
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Women
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Adolescent boys and girls
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Young adults
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Anxiety
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Depression
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Gender and Identity Issues
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Creative blocks
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Existential questions
- Developing Intuition
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Mindfulness and Meditation
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Issues of spirituality
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Meeting your true Self
DURHAM HOUSE SUITE 206 1012 SW KING AVENUE PORTLAND, OR 97205 For an Appt call: 971 242-4208
RELATIONSHIP MATTERS
Between client and counselor a new felt experience paves the way forward. With mutual trust and receptivity, we can build new neural pathways, new muscle memory, and ultimately, a new relationship with Self.
CONTACT ME
Choosing a counselor is an important decision that asks for the right fit. I am happy to offer a free 15 minute phone consultation so that we can be in touch regarding any questions you may have -- or as a way of getting to know one another.