About EH - Existential-Humanistic Northwest

Vision Statement:

Existential-Humanistic NorthWest is here to impact the world through our commitment to and passion for existential-humanistic values of authenticity, integrity, responsibility, inter-connectedness, inclusion, and awe.

Mission Statement

EHNW enlivens and enriches human experience through our commitment to being present with ourselves, others, society, and the mystery of life. We serve the healing professions, our clients, and the public through dialogue, education, training, and advocacy.

EHNW provides:

Education: Providing educational training for clinical practitioners in the areas of E-H theory and therapy practice
Advocacy: Advocating for E-H psychotherapy with the aim of having better representation within both professional communities and to the public.
Membership, Peer Support, Outreach: Offering dynamic support through intentionally-committed membership and professional/community outreach.
Interdisciplinary: Dialogue with a diverse range of academic and professional disciplinary perspectives to enhance the creative applications of E-H concepts and values.

EHNW Board Members

PAM BARELA, Phd

Pam possesses a Master of Arts degree in Human Services Counseling, with a specialization in Marriage and Families, as well as a PhD in Clinical Sexology. Her doctoral research delves into the intricate interplay between religion, sexual shame, purity culture, and gender roles.

Having grown up in a blended family, she brings a wealth of empathy and understanding to those navigating similar situations. Operating as a sex-positive therapist, Pam collaborates with you to define your sexual preferences and upholds your autonomy in making those choices. Her therapeutic approach is characterized by an open-minded understanding of each individual’s sexuality.

In addition to working as a therapist on the northwest Oregon Coast, Pam is an adjunct professor at Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

Pam currently serves on the following boards:
Existential Humanistic Northwest
Clatsop Community Action

Ryan Brown, LPC

Ryan is a Licensed Professional Counselor and earned a Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Goddard College, with a concentration in Sexual Orientation and specialized training in working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer clients.

Ryan works with people struggling with a diverse range of issues, and is particularly interested in exploring issues that relate to depression, anxiety, lack of fulfillment, life transitions, relationship issues, personal growth, LGBTQ issues, and polyamory & consensual non-monogamy.

He began his clinical work in 2015 at William Temple House, counseling low income individuals and couples in Portland, Oregon and launched a private practice in 2017 called Live True Counseling. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Existential-Humanistic NorthWest (EHNW), a professional organization that promotes the existential-humanistic perspective and philosophy.

Bob Edelstein LMFT MFT

I am passionate about the existential-humanistic perspective in both my personal and professional life. To me, the perspective embraces all of what it means to exist and values each unique, individual journey. I value that we always have a choice to change our attitude and behavior, even in the most limited of conditions or circumstances. I take on the powerful responsibility that our choice matters in that we impact the world by our feelings, thoughts and actions. This perspective also embraces that as human beings we are always moving towards health and wholeness, both individually and collectively.

Dave Fischer PsyD

Dave is a licensed psychologist, providing compassionate and patient-centered therapy in a primary care setting. He completed a doctorate in clinical psychology and a post-doctoral fellowship in health psychology in the integrated primary care model. He currently works for Premise Health Care, at Intel Health for Life Centers and sees clients that are Intel employees or their dependents. He engages in brief interventions, diagnostic evaluations, and ongoing psychotherapy for individuals, couples, and adolescents. Dave has experience with multi-cultural patients and can provide therapy in Spanish if needed, as he has lived and traveled throughout Latin America. Dave has also taught a variety of psychology courses at several colleges and universities, including coursework in clinical, abnormal, group, adolescent and basic psychology. Dave received a year of specialized training and conducted academic research in psychotherapy with persons living with HIV. As a member of the American Psychological Association and board member of Existential-Humanistic Northwest, he brings and makes space for a broad range of perspectives to each client encounter.

Joaquin Lopez, MS, LPC

Joaquin is a mental health counselor registered as a Licensed Professional Counselor with the State of Oregon. He graduated from the Portland State University CACREP-accredited Master’s program in counseling. Joaquin participated in additional training at the PSU Counseling Clinic and at William Temple House. His private practice is located in the historic district of Beaverton, Oregon, in Theel House.

Joaquin is a Jungian-existential oriented counselor. He serves on the Existential-Humanistic Northwest Professional Organization (EHNW) board. His professional memberships include the American Counseling Association (ACA), Oregon Counseling Association (OCA), S.A.I.G.E. (Sexual, Affectional, Intersex, and Gender Expansive Communities), EHNW, and Oregon Friends of C.G. Jung.

“Human beings adapt to life. Human beings adopt behaviors to avoid conflict, to fight stressors, or to suppress difficult emotions. Over time, the behaviors cause disease or distress. Behavioral adaptations modify the personality. Behavior tells the story the body holds. The client explores their story, restoring a soulful well-being.”

Justin Rock LPC

I’m committed to nurturing a space steeped in Existential-Humanistic values. My approach, shaped by my studies in phenomenology and existentialism at Lewis & Clark College, views therapy as a journey we embark on together, deeply relational at its core. I engage with clients in therapy and associates in supervision at Live True Counseling. I also engage with students in education at Lewis & Clark College as an Adjust Professor.

At Live True Counseling, I aim to cultivate a therapeutic environment where authentic relationships can flourish. I believe therapy reaches its fullest potential within a community, offering support and understanding. This belief extends to my teaching role at Lewis & Clark’s Graduate School, particularly in the Art Therapy and Marriage, Couples, and Family Therapy programs. There, I stress the importance of understanding therapy within its social context and utilize phenomenology to further social justice.

Ultimately, my work strives to live with authenticity and thus in being-with-others to co-facilitate the creation of meaning and growth, both within their communities and in their personal lives as well as mine.

Lisa Sloan Strom LPC cadc-I

I’m a second-generation psychotherapist, raised on warm beach sand with a passion for humanity and an unquenchable thirst for deeper meaning. Early adulthood exploration as: actor, dancer, college DJ, skateboarder, bike messenger, filmmaker, music video producer, foreign publicist, and world traveler have made for a diverse background. In mid-life, I’ve also served as a bilingual teacher (Spanish-English), parent educator, and radio producer. Life experience in the education, communication and creative industries inspired me to become a Licenced Professional Counselor. I have a private practice in Portland, where I work with adult individuals, and engage in an integration of existential, feminist and Jungian approaches with my clients. I am an addiction specialist, serving both those seeking recovery and also their loved ones. In addition to sitting on the EHNW Board of Directors, I also enjoy serving as Advisor to the Council for Sati Sangha.

BETH SWAIN LPC

I have been a licensed professional counselor (LPC) working from an Existential-Humanistic (EH) and Jungian framework for over twenty years. Currently, I have a private practice in Salem, Oregon. Coming from an EH perspective, my clients are often seeking a sense of meaning in their lives. We work to discover what blocks them from pursuing their reason for being and explore ways to live more fully and authentically. I am, also, a certified Archetypal Pattern Analyst which helps me further identify life patterns that stand in my client’s way from fully embracing their life purpose. Prior to becoming a mental health counselor, I was an early childhood educator and director of an early childhood program for over ten years. Then, I spent several years teaching personal and career development courses in a community college where I primarily worked with single parents who were seeking a path out of poverty.

Marc Turkel, MA LMHCA - Associate

I’ve lived in the PNW for 25 years via Miami and originally, from New York City. I received a BFA from the Rochester Institute of Technology and worked as a professional photographer. I came to Seattle to work for Microsoft and lead self actualization seminars before earning a Masters in Existential Phenomenology Psychology from Seattle University. I interned at Sound Behavioral Health and currently work in a private group practice in Seattle, WA.

I practice Existential Integrative therapy which is defined by Kirk Schneider (1999) as, “that confluence of artistic, philosophical, and clinical disciplines that employ what might roughly be called a phenomenological method of arriving at an understanding of human existence”. That is, for each client, a framework to purposefully examine life’s experience, to distinguish that which lies below the level of our consciousness and to generate the freedom to walk an intentional pathway forward. I’m grief and loss informed, I study mindfulness, eastern philosophy and a variety of selected modalities. I’m interested in the ways these all converge, how people construct meaning and, how it relates to finding new capacities for generating wellbeing.

I work with people dealing with depression, anxiety, grief and loss, life transitions, relationship issues including polyamory and ethical non-monogamy.

William Venturelli LPC

Hi, my name is William Venturelli. I am a licensed professional counselor and I run Atma Counseling in Downtown Portland. I practice from an Existential-Humanistic perspective where other modalities can be integrated; in other words, you and I create the optimal therapeutic experience that best suits who you are. While working with me, you will never be seen as a collection of symptoms, instead, you will be seen as a unique person experiencing life unlike anyone else. Through a focus on the process happening in sessions, as well as the content you bring in, we will explore without judgment the following: how you currently live, how you would like to be living, and finally, how possible are the changes you want considering life’s non-negotiable constraints (such as aging, family, death, etc.). I love working on issues of middle age, however, I have also worked with young adults and post retirement clients on issues related to meaning, choice, self-identity and other existential concerns. I also offer a free phone consultation. Please feel free to check out my website for further details

Living authentically ~ Authentically living