Every person who comes to Stillwater Counseling is dealing with something specific. Here's a detailed look at the areas Dr. Chen specializes in — and what you can actually expect from the work.
One-on-one sessions with Dr. Chen, typically 50 minutes, weekly. This is the core of the practice — a consistent, private space where you can work through whatever is feeling most pressing in your life.
Sessions are tailored to you. Some weeks that means structured skill-building. Other weeks it means sitting with something hard until it makes a little more sense. Dr. Chen draws from CBT, DBT, and other evidence-based frameworks, adapting the approach to what's actually useful for you.
Get startedDr. Chen is trained to Level 3 in the Gottman Method, one of the most rigorously researched approaches to couples therapy. She works with couples at all stages — early conflict, long-term disconnection, and everything in between.
Couples sessions are 50 minutes. The work focuses on building the friendship and respect that keeps relationships stable, improving how you communicate during conflict, and creating shared meaning. LGBTQ+ couples are very welcome.
Get startedAnxiety is one of the most common reasons people come to therapy, and one of the most treatable. Whether you're dealing with generalized worry, social anxiety, panic, or the specific dread that comes with a high-pressure life, there are effective tools for this.
Dr. Chen uses CBT and somatic approaches to help clients understand the anxiety response and develop concrete strategies for interrupting it. The goal isn't to eliminate anxiety — it's to stop letting it run the show.
Get startedDepression is more than feeling sad. It's the heaviness that makes even ordinary things feel unreachable. The loss of motivation, interest, and energy that can make getting through a day feel like a real accomplishment.
Therapy for depression at Stillwater is collaborative and practical. Dr. Chen works with clients to understand the pattern of their depression, build behavioral activation strategies, and address the thought patterns that sustain it. She also works closely with prescribers when medication is part of the picture.
Get startedTrauma takes many forms. It can be a single overwhelming event, or it can be years of smaller injuries — childhood experiences, relational harm, the cumulative weight of marginalization. Both deserve care.
Dr. Chen is a certified EMDR therapist and uses it regularly for trauma treatment. She also works with trauma narratively and somatically, depending on what a client needs. Trauma work is always paced — you won't be pushed into anything before you're ready, and building safety comes first.
Get startedGrief is not linear and it doesn't have a timeline. You might be grieving a person who died, or a relationship that ended, or a version of your life that didn't happen, or a future you'd imagined. All of it counts.
Dr. Chen's approach to grief is compassionate and unhurried. She doesn't push clients toward "acceptance" on a schedule. The goal is to make space for the grief to be felt and understood so it doesn't have to live underground, showing up sideways in everything else.
Get startedEven the changes we choose — a new relationship, a new city, a new career, becoming a parent, leaving something behind — can be destabilizing. The self you knew in one context doesn't always translate cleanly to the next one.
Therapy during transition helps you stay connected to your values while you navigate the uncertainty. Dr. Chen works with clients to process what's ending, make sense of what's beginning, and figure out who they want to be on the other side.
Get startedDr. Chen's practice is explicitly and actively affirming of LGBTQ+ identities. Some clients come specifically to process identity-related experiences — coming out, navigating family dynamics, exploring gender identity, or working through the specific stressors of being queer in the world.
Others simply want a therapist who doesn't make them explain or justify themselves. Both are welcome. You won't be treated as an educational experience, and you won't be asked to perform your identity for anyone's curiosity.
Get startedAll of the services listed above are available via telehealth for clients anywhere in Oregon. Sessions happen through a secure, HIPAA-compliant video platform — you'll receive a private link before each session.
Telehealth is not a lesser version of in-person therapy. For many clients, the convenience and comfort of being at home actually makes sessions more productive. Dr. Chen has offered telehealth since 2020 and finds it works well for most concerns.
Get startedNo surprises. Here's what sessions cost, how insurance works, and what to do if the standard fee is out of reach.
$175
Per 50-minute session. Initial intake appointment (60 min) is $200. Sessions available in-person or via telehealth.
$220
Per 50-minute session. Couples intake is $240 and runs 75 minutes. Includes individual partner assessments.
Available
A limited number of sliding scale spots are reserved for clients who need them. Inquire when you contact us — there's no lengthy application process.
Stillwater Counseling is an out-of-network, private-pay practice. I don't bill insurance companies directly. However, I provide a monthly superbill — an itemized receipt with the billing codes your insurance needs — that you can submit yourself for potential reimbursement.
If you have a PPO plan, call your insurance company and ask: "What is my out-of-network mental health benefit, and what is my deductible?" Many clients receive 50–80% reimbursement once their deductible is met.
I accept all major credit cards, debit cards, and HSA/FSA cards. Payment is due at the time of service.
You don't need to know before you reach out. The free 15-minute consultation is specifically designed to help figure this out together. Tell Dr. Chen what's going on, and she'll let you know whether it fits within her areas of specialization and what kind of work might make the most sense. If she's not the right fit, she'll say so and help you find someone who is.
Yes, though it's worth knowing that Dr. Chen generally keeps individual and couples work separate for a given relationship — meaning if you've worked with her individually, she may refer your couples work to another therapist to avoid dual-role complications. This protects the integrity of both therapeutic relationships. It's worth discussing during the consultation if you're considering both.
Most people do. Real concerns rarely fit cleanly into a single label — anxiety and relationship stress live together, trauma and depression overlap, grief shows up as anger. Dr. Chen's approach is integrative, meaning she draws from multiple frameworks based on what's actually happening for you, not based on a predetermined category. Just describe what's going on, and the work will find its shape.
Weekly sessions are the standard, especially at the beginning of therapy. More frequent contact early on tends to produce faster progress. As things stabilize, many clients shift to biweekly. Biweekly from the start is possible if weekly isn't feasible, though it often means slower movement. Dr. Chen will discuss pacing with you during the intake appointment.
Cancellations with less than 24 hours' notice are charged at the full session rate, with the exception of genuine emergencies. This policy exists because your session time is reserved specifically for you, and late cancellations prevent others from using it. If you need to cancel, please do so as early as possible. There's a clear cancellation policy in the client agreement you'll sign at intake.
Take the first step
The free 15-minute consultation is the easiest way to find out whether Stillwater Counseling is the right fit for you. No commitment required.