Dr. Alex Rowell- Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Online Therapy in Oregon
Many people begin therapy because they feel anxious, depressed, stuck, disconnected, or overwhelmed by patterns they cannot fully understand. They may know what they “should” do, but still find themselves repeating the same relationship struggles, emotional reactions, self-criticism, or avoidance patterns. Psychodynamic psychotherapy helps people understand why these patterns exist, how they developed, and how …
Continue reading "How Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Works and Why It Is Effective."
When people begin looking for therapy, they often come across different terms that can be difficult to sort through. Two of the most common are CBT, or cognitive behavioral therapy, and insight-oriented therapy, which includes approaches such as psychodynamic therapy, depth therapy, and attachment-informed therapy. Both can be helpful. Both can support meaningful change. But …
Continue reading "CBT vs. Insight-Oriented Therapy for Relationship Problems"
Telehealth therapy has transformed mental health care in Oregon. What once felt like a temporary solution has become a long-term option for people seeking convenient, accessible, and effective psychotherapy throughout the state. Today, many Oregon residents prefer online therapy because it removes common barriers to getting support. Increased Access to Therapy Across Oregon One of …
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In a world built for speed, psychodynamic psychotherapy may be more important than ever.We live in an age of instant answers, rapid swipes, constant notifications, and endless self-optimization. Feeling anxious? Search for a tool. Feeling lonely? Open an app and start scrolling. Feeling stuck? Look for the next hack.Psychodynamic psychotherapy offers something increasingly rare: a …
Continue reading "Why Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Matters in a Fast-Paced World"
Beyond Symptom Relief: The Depth Work of Psychodynamic TherapyPsychodynamic therapy continues to evolve with a focus on research and being an evidence-based treatment. A 2023 meta-analysis by Leichsenring and colleagues examined 27 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing psychodynamic therapy (PDT) to other treatments (e.g., CBT) for depression. The study found PDT to be equally effective …
Continue reading "Beyond Symptom Relief: The Depth Work of Psychodynamic Therapy"
When people think about Psychodynamic treatment they often think it focuses only on one’s childhood, sexual impulses, and unconscious content. This is partly true, as portions of psychodynamic treatment focus on the quest to make the unconscious, conscious. However, psychodynamic treatment also focuses on gaining awareness of thoughts, feelings, and patterns based on past relationships …
Sadness is an emotion we often associate with depression, grief, loss, change, and many other transitions occurring in our lives. When people experience sadness, they may describe a heaviness in their chest or a weighted vest slowing them down; cognitively sadness may be labeled as a mental fog or an absence from the present moment. …
In this next series of blogs, I am going to write about our six primary emotions and how they present themselves in therapy. This research comes from Paul Ekman who identified six basic emotions (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise) all humans have. These may sound familiar because there is a wonderful movie, Inside Out, in which the …
Shame is one of those words that elicits a strong visceral reaction from our body and mind. Probably just reading that one word you may have noticed yourself wanting to stop reading this blog (avoidance) or your stomach cringing (psychosomatic symptom expression). Shame is often associated with feelings and emotions we try to block from …
What makes therapy difficult for so many people is this idea that you have to share some of your deepest and darkest secrets to a complete stranger. As someone who has sat both in the chair as the therapist and on the couch as the patient, I can tell you that I sincerely empathize with …