Mark van Ness

Background

About Mark van Ness

I hold a Master of Social Work degree from Portland State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. I also have a Ph.D. in Intercultural Education and an M.A. in Education. The majority of my social work experience has involved working with youth and adults by providing mental health counseling services. I have educational and work expertise that has enabled me to support individuals and families from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. I also have experience working with clients who have been impacted by anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-harm, disordered eating, abuse, neglect, and trauma as well as those who have marginalized identities that further impact their ability to thrive. Some of my research interests involve the topics of religious trauma and religious/spiritual abuse. I have also presented at professional conferences around the world and the U.S. on the topic of respectful communication. My main priority as a clinician is to provide a compassionate, non-judgmental, therapeutic space where clients feel seen, safe, and supported. I strive to help clients feel that their life experiences, identities, and stories are honored and respected. I practice from a person-centered, strength-based, trauma-informed, constructivist approach, which to me means that a client's autonomy, self-determination, and strengths are acknowledged and respected; the client's voice, choices, experience, and story are valued and incorporated into the work; and feedback and collaboration are always encouraged in the therapeutic space. I am committed to witnessing and honoring a client's truth. As we all emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and address a wide variety of individual and collective trauma, I believe it is also important to recognize the impact these events and experiences have had on all of us and determine what is needed to grieve, process, and flourish in spite of them. Since awareness and imagination are required in this endeavor and each person is beautifully unique, I offer individual clients a wide variety of mindfulness practices that incorporate art, music, movement, sensation, etc. Although I prioritize narrative and solutions-focused modalities, I also draw upon CBT, DBT, psychodynamic, and somatic interventions to meet clients’ individual needs. Finally, I also am committed to helping clients draw on their own sources of strength as well as find new resources that bring understanding, creativity, joy, hope, and meaning, not only to their own lives, but to their relationships and communities as well.