Sean Barnett, LCSW

Therapist
Portland OR
I work in two modes with my patients depending on their needs and reasons for seeking me out. I provide "traditional" psychotherapy from a contemporary psychodynamic perspective where we'll typically meet at my office (or remotely) for weekly sessions of 45 minutes. I also work individually with people seeking to use psychedelic substances for therapeutic benefits safely and effectively. This can include helping to prepare for as well as facilitating the safe, therapeutic use of psilocybin and MDMA; helping patients to make sense of psychedelic experiences they've already had and finding ways to put the lessons learned with the aid of psychedelics into practice in their daily life. I offer a free 45-minute consultation session for prospective patients to discuss psychedelic-assisted therapies and the services I provide in that regard.
I have been in private practice since 2015. Prior to this I worked for 6 years as a therapist and case manager at Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, a local community mental health center, and before that for 3 years as a psychiatric social worker at an adult inpatient psychiatric unit in Los Angeles. I received my Masters in Social Work degree from the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration in 2005 and my Oregon Clinical Social Worker’s License in 2011. I have done extensive training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the Oregon Psychoanalytic Center, as well as completing training in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Motivational Interviewing and Strengths-Based Case Management. Psychedelic experiences have been some of the most meaningful events of my life and I've been helping people safely use these substances and integrate those experiences for 6 years now. I attended Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon for my undergraduate education, earning my Bachelors Degree with a major in philosophy in 1998. From 2000 to 2002 I served as a Peace Corps volunteer, teaching English as a Foreign Language in the West African nation of Cameroon.