Good counseling happens when the client and counselor have a positive working relationship or “therapeutic alliance”. What is a good therapeutic alliance?

The client and counselor have a good therapeutic alliance when:

• They develop trust—the client feels personally understood and feels safe to share vulnerability, anger, disagreements with the therapist, etc.
• They agree on the basic goals of the therapy.
• They agree on the course therapy will take, in other words what the approach will be and what the sessions will look like.
• They have a shared understanding of the timeframe for the therapy.
• They have the ability to backtrack and repair the therapeutic relationship when misunderstandings occur.
• They are able to honestly negotiate breaks or other changes in the therapy when appropriate.

Starting off on the right foot—with honesty and openness—is the foundation of the counseling I do. Finding a good match with a counselor is the most important part of any counseling for a client. During our first meeting I will let you know directly what I think about our match and I’ll ask your opinion of the same. If we decide we don’t match well, I’ll happily provide you with referrals for counselors who might be a better fit.

My style is forthright and interactive—I don’t “just listen”, I will give you feedback and let you know what I think about the issues you bring in. I will encourage you to stay active in your own counseling by stretching yourself to express how you feel, by asking me questions, by challenging my ideas, and by doing your own research and reading outside the therapy room. Likewise, I will sometimes challenge you, ask tough questions, and I will always support you and encourage your unedited expression of honesty. I enjoy doing counseling and I strive to keep learning and to keep my perspective open.

I use an integrative approach in my work—I’m trained in several major counseling theories and I find it helpful to draw upon elements of each in order to keep counseling fresh and preserve the complexity of the people I work with.

Here are the main theoretical orientations to counseling I use:

Gestalt

Gestalt therapy helps people get in touch with and talk honestly about their unfulfilled needs. It raises awareness of the protective patterns people have established in their lives—patterns that often end up playing a restrictive, deadening role. Gestalt is a strengths-based perspective that does not pathologize people by reducing them only to a diagnosis or set of issues. It’s a creative, expressive approach that results in an expanded, more confident sense of self.

ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)

One linchpin concept of ACT is experiential avoidance. People spend a lot of energy trying to avoid and deny the unpleasant parts of their lives. ACT highlights the benefit of leaning into your fears and emotions so you can acknowledge what needs change and can continue to act in your life despite suffering. If you wait until everything in your life is perfect before you choose to move forward, how long will that take?

Collaborative Couples’ Therapy (CCT)

CCT helps couples talk about what they really want in their relationship. We have all heard that relationships take compromise, but CCT starts with the idea that it is healthy to share your unedited, uncompromised needs and dreams with your partner. Couples infuse their relationship with honesty and spark when they express their ideal wants with each other, rather than their usual “fallback position.” I help couples work toward taking the risk of free expression. This process helps bring you and your partner closer to fulfilling the dreams you each keep inside. In my experience, most couples find CCT refreshing and beneficial, especially if their communication is shut down and they find themselves playing out painful, emotionally distant patterns with each other.

Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT)

It is well accepted these days both in popular culture and in the field of mental health that expressing and experiencing your emotions is associated with relief. EFT helps people come into contact with their feelings and explore the totality of that experience. Emotions are important because they are the body’s signal that something in our environment needs our attention. Something is going on—good , bad, or otherwise—that requires action. Learning to recognize primary and secondary feelings is a huge benefit for many people. For example: For women, how often does sadness mask your anger? For men, how often does anger mask your fears? When we recognize our primary emotions and feel them, we free up energy that was being used unproductively—typically to avoid something unpleasant. The outcome is that we are able to acknowledge, experience and then move on from unresolved emotions that were holding us back.

I have completed all coursework and clinical training for my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (PsyD) from Pacific University. I’m currently completing my dissertation in order to receive my degree. At this time, I work as a counselor and I have my Master's in Clinical Psychology from Pacific University.  I have worked as a counselor for over 5 years with adults of all ages at organizations approved by the American Psychological Association (APA): Portland State University, Central Washington University, Lifeworks NW (Beaverton), Pacific University’s Psychological Service Center (Downtown Portland), and Pacific University’s Counseling Center (Forest Grove). I have specific training and experience in Gestalt, ACT, Emotion-Focused, and Collaborative Couples’ therapies. In addition I have trained in and used effective, holistic, and wellness-based approaches for treating sadness and worry.

Being a counselor is a great job. I enjoy bringing my energy, vitality, and sense of ground into the work I do.

If you have any questions about my approach to therapy or my credentials please don’t hesitate to get in touch by phone or email.

Thanks for your interest in my practice!

Alec Wilson, M.S.
(503) 757-6259
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3430 SE Belmont Ave, Portland, OR

(c) 2008 Great Northwest Counseling, Portland, OR