Alissa Bazinet, PhD
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Portland OR
In my role as a therapist, my primary aim is to support clients in returning to wholeness and connection (with self, others, spirit, and Earth) through reclaiming their personal power where it has been taken away. This process involves a deep respect for clients' autonomy, trust in their innate wisdom and capacity to heal, and transparency within the therapeutic relationship. It also requires that I hold a deeply safe and supportive container for *all* parts of self to be fully seen and witnessed, particularly parts that are repressed or "cut out" of conscious awareness. I am not a therapist who shies away from "being with" discomfort, strong emotions, or dark and challenging psychological material (i.e., "the shadow"). Instead, I am able to offer nonjudgmental reflection and acceptance of rejected parts, to assist clients in attending to their underlying needs and integrating the lessons they represent. At the same time, it is deeply important to me to "meet clients where they are", and to honor and respect their pace and their boundaries, not pushing to go "too deep, too fast".
I find a lot of joy in helping clients to recognize patterns and themes throughout their lives and to "put the pieces" together of how and why they came to be the person they are, with their specific coping mechanisms and patterns of behavior. Once there is a deeper understanding of how we arrived in the present, it is often only a short leap away to envision a different future, and to begin to make the necessary changes in one's life to align with values and purpose. It is an honor to accompany clients on their journeys of transformation and liberation.
Dr. Alissa Bazinet is a licensed clinical psychologist in Portland, Oregon. She is a co-founder of Sequoia Center, a nonprofit clinic aiming to provide affordable & accessible psychedelic-assisted therapy and related services to individuals from historically underrepresented communities and those most in need. In her practice, Dr. Bazinet specializes in evaluation and treatment of individuals with complex or co-occurring mental health conditions, such as complex trauma, PTSD, addiction, Bipolar disorder, major depression, anxiety, and chronic pain/illness. She has extensive training in neuropsychological and psychodiagnostic assessment, as well as in providing cognitive rehabilitation and mindfulness training for individuals with traumatic brain injuries or neurological disorders.
Dr. Bazinet received her PhD in 2013 from the University of California, San Diego & San Diego State University's "Joint Doctoral Program" in Clinical Psychology. She completed her predoctoral internship at the Portland VA Hospital and a two-year research fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University. She has over 10 years of experience working in the VA hospital system, conducting research and providing clinical services for Veterans with co-occurring PTSD and addiction. In 2017, she left the VA to form her own private practice, where she offers integrative, holistic, trauma-informed psychotherapy, as well as harm reduction, psychedelic integration, and ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. She has been closely involved in the planning and implementation of Oregon's Psilocybin Services Program, serving as a member of the training subcommittee of the Oregon Psilocybin Advisory Board. She is a faculty member for Lewis & Clark College's inaugural "Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy Licensure Preparation Program". She has served as a lead volunteer for the Zendo Project, Burning Man's Crisis Intervention Team, WhiteBird Rock Medicine, and other psychedelic harm reduction and peer support organizations.