I work in the heart of this beautiful city of Portland and I see people every day who are searching
for a connection to something or someone. Located in the corner of the Pearl district, I want people to walk in my door and
feel safe enough to be vulnerable and willing to experience discomfort in order to get to that place where they can do the
work necessary to begin to feel happy and peaceful.
What I love about this setting is that
it aligns with my deepest purpose for my clients. So many of them come to therapy because they don't believe they can
be happy. Here, they can begin to experience the joy of being 'good enough' in simple yet profound ways.
In this reflective setting they develop within themselves new-found strengths with which to overcome the pain they are
experiencing and achieve goals they had previously thought impossible.
I love being an agent for change...assisting people in
creating the lives they choose and developing in wonderful, dynamic, exciting ways they previously have only dreamed of.
We each deserve to live the lives of our dreams.
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| Margie Chance, LPC, CADC-I |
I am a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), a Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor (CADC-I), and a Certified
Core Belief Psychotherapist SM (CCBP).
At Portland State University I earned
my undergraduate degree, then later went on to earn an M.A. at Antioch University-Seattle in 1999. I became licensed in Oregon
in January 2003, (Lic. #C1465)** and earned my CADC-I in 2001. In December 2006 I earned my CCBP after three months of specialized
training. For additional information about CBPSM, click on the CBP link on my Resources page.
I'm a member of the ACA--American Counseling Association since 1998, and OMHCA--Oregon Mental Health Counselors
Association.
In 1992 I began working as a Residential Counselor at a locked residential
program for adolescent girls. I've worked in various other residential facilities for boys and girls of all ages. Additionally,
I spent a year as an Outpatient Counselor working with children 3-17, and their families.
While I've worked
in the mental health field for 16 years, I have nine years post graduate, clinical experience as a Counselor and
two years experience in management, having worked as the Clinical Supervisor during my 5 years at Morrison Child & Family
Services Breakthrough program. Breakthrough is a day treatment program for adolescents with substance abuse and various mental
health issues (adjudicated youth in temporary custody of the Oregon Youth Authority). While at Breakthrough I facilitated
5-6 hours of groups each week, including a weekly multifamily group. I also conducted weekly family counseling sessions with
each of my clients and their families.
Prior to opening my Practice I focused
much of my work on serving adolescent females, and served as the Female Gender Specialist at Morrison Breakthrough for five
years. In this role I worked with other Gender Specialists in the field, and attended a group called the federation Girls
Continuum Committee. This Committee is attended by professionals who currently serve adolescent girls in a variety of modalities.
Currently I am a member of the Coalition of Advocates for Equal Access for Girls, which is an organization open to professionals
who work to meet the needs of girls in the community. I have experience in employee supervision, and I have supervised
Counseling Interns for licensure since 2003. I continue to provide Intern Supervision in my Practice now. (See my Services
page.)
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| The Counseling Room at Heart Centered Psychotherapy |
In 2004 I opened my Private Practice and since then I've served a wide variety of clients--couples,
families and individual clients. I really enjoy working with young adults and have a great amount of experience in serving
young women from adolescence through their 30's. That said, I serve both men and women of varying ages. And of course,
when working with adolescents it is often necessary to work with their families as well. I began developing my skills with
families in 1999 in various agencies in which I worked. In my private practice I have enjoyed becoming increasingly more skilled
in working with couples as well. You'll notice on my Services page that I am trained in Dan Wile's Collaborative Couples
Therapy which I utilize when appropriate. All of my work is done in a collaborative environment, making sure to respect each
client's innate knowledge of themselves.
I take the quality of therapy I provide very seriously. As a skilled
and seasoned therapist, I understand the importance of providing my clients with services which are considered to be Best
Practice. And in order to do this--to provide checks and balances for my clinical thinking and decision making--I obtain regular
consultation with a local psychologist. Without identifying any of my clients I consult on client issues with this psychologist
in order to gain a fresh perspective from my own. In this way my clients are more likely to obtain therapeutic advice and
services with Best Practice interventions in mind. Of course, anyone who does not wish me to discuss their issues in
consultation will have an opportunity to let me know when we begin our therapeutic relationship.
