Emily Chavez-Nguyen (she/her)
MA, NCC, Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC-OR), Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC - WA)
My Approach
Sometimes as human beings, we feel the need to segregate parts of ourselves to make others or our environments safer and more comfortable. At work, we may let our structured, formal-self show, while pushing away our sensitivity and personal identity. In our community, we may feel comfortable to express our sexuality, but hide our spirituality for fear of rejection. The result is a fragmented human, with nowhere to be fully alive, to be entirely you.
While I have experience in many areas, and love working with people across the spectrum I find I'm often the best fit for those who want to go deeper into themselves, as well as into becoming. I am a member of both faith communities as well as the LGBTQ community. I am also in a interracial partnership and mother to both a cat, and a dog. I've found myself as the bridge between many people, communities and ideas, and this gave me a heart for those who can't seem to "fit" anywhere. I love to do the hard work of helping humans find there way to be themselves, and finding compassion and hope for ALL parts of themselves ALL of the time. This may mean holding your faith and sexuality equally, exploring your gender in a conservative family, or navigating a relationship where partners hold vastly different experiences or beliefs. There is room to integrate while allowing uniqueness to remain, I believe that all parts of my clients belong, even the ones that seem completely contradictory.
I see my job as walking with clients through a path where the destination is blurry. We may explore old side trails, acknowledging how the past forms who they are, but also how it might no longer serve them. I walk with my clients as they gain their own awareness, discover both who they are and who they want to be, become integrated, and begin to see how to live authentically. All the while, I strive to create a supportive therapeutic relationship where clients feel safe to explore, and know that they belong, no matter who they are. When their destination is clear, I step aside, knowing they are capable without me, and I will always remain cheering them on.
I use a Humanistic – Gestalt – Existential approach which has adaptability to fit every client, and the unique human being that they are. Sometimes this includes art or movement, writing or speaking, exploring or resting, process or content, and it almost always includes humor.
About the name
Sound Fern Counseling
As a young child I lived in various places, but something that was present no matter where I was, was nature and animals. The company of plants and animals to this day is one of my greatest comforts and joys. While spending some of those young years in the natural wilderness of New Zealand, I was always surrounded by ferns, where they are in abundance. I’ve always loved ferns, but it wasn’t until I was a bit older that I learned what they represent. Ferns symbolize both the steady and unchanging in their base, and the growth and cycle of life in their fronds. I find people are just like this, we have this stability and foundation of where we come from, good and bad. But we also have an evolving self, movement we can make as we grow and develop. So much of my work with my clients looks the same. Both working in the steady of understanding of your origins, and helping you move to create new growth in who you want to become. This is where the word fern comes from.
When my eyes weren’t drawn to the ferns on the ground, they rested on birds, swallows in particular. They represent hope. Counseling to me is so much of choosing to hope for different. That hope requires someone steady with us in the journey some stability to lean on when things are not so clear. The word sound represent both the song of birds reminding us of hope, but also the soundness and steady I’ll bring to our time together.
So that’s where Sound Fern Counseling came from.
Training & Education
I hold a Master’s Degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from CACREP accredited Western Seminary. I have education around the enneagram, and frequently integrate this into my counseling. I also have training in working from Gottman couples therapy methods, Mindfulness-based stress reduction, and MBT (metallization based therapy). My education has prepared me to work with people struggling with many different clinical issues, but also with issues of spiritually where I hold training and competency. I value exploring with those who feel they must live “double lives”, rather than allowing all parts of themselves into every aspect of their life.
I began my clinical work at Shepherds Gate Counseling in 2017, located in Denver Colorado. From there, I moved on to A New Day Counseling practice in January 2018 located in Portland. Here I was able to refine my skills in working with young adults in transition stages of life. I then spent over a year in clinical work at Community Services North West in Vancouver WA. Here I worked with many individuals of all ages and genders with a variety of issues including anxiety, depression, addiction, homelessness, life transitions, LGBTQ issues, polyamory, lack of fulfillment, personality differences and more. When I graduated from my masters program I joined Live True Counseling, a group practice in downtown Portland where I furthered my private practice clinical experience. Here I worked with many on the LGBTQ spectrum, adults and adolescents of all ages and those experiencing anxiety, depression, coping with COVID, job loss, grief, gender exploration and more before deciding to open my own practice, Sound Fern Counseling.
Get started, today.
Contact me to book a free 30 min phone consultation.