Shanna porter, licsw

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My private practice is Wildflower Wellness Counseling PLLC. I am also the founder of Sweetgrass Commons. 

As a social worker, I  practice from a person-centered and strengths-based approach. I encourage others to recognize their own inherent dignity and worth. I strongly believe that healing is a collective experience and it occurs within relationship. This is fundamental to trauma-informed care and healing-centered engagement. I utilize elements of BrainWorking Recursive Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Motivational Interviewing. Identifying values, strengths and goals helps us in the process of addressing thoughts, behaviors and emotions. 

In my experience, we are formed by the many facets of our lives and strive to integrate ourselves. For example, I am a Christian, social worker, wife, mother, sister, daughter, parent of special needs, foster/adoptive parent, Native American, Caucasian, veteran and survivor, etc. It is a journey to balance our many roles and practice self-care. 

First and foremost, you deserve it. You deserve time to focus on and explore your needs. You deserve an opportunity to explore your full self. You deserve time to process challenges that you've experienced. You deserve to be heard and acknowledged for what you've seen in this life. 

There is intrinsic healing when we enter into relationship, and that's what counseling is all about. Counseling is an opportunity to have someone by your side as you navigate the current season of your life. It's about helping you unlock more of the potential that's already inside. 

Counseling services are available in-person or virtually. The office is conveniently located in the University District near Downtown Spokane. Sessions are ~50 minutes in a modern, casual environment. Plus, I love plants!

At your first session, we will review paperwork, as well as your background and desires for counseling. Each session will reflect your needs and goals. I hope that you will come as you are as we learn to be transparent, vulnerable and authentic in ourselves.  

I have experience working with anxiety, depression, women's issues, racial identity, life transitions, balance and self-care, coping skills, boundaries,  self-esteem and personal valuing, secondary trauma, adoption/foster care, and special needs parenting.

I enjoy using a brief, solution-focused interventions when appropriate. Learn more about BrainWorking Recursive Therapy (BWRT), a new therapy model based upon neuroscience by below:

“Wildflowers are the loveliest of all because they grow in uncultivated soil, in those hard, rugged places where no one expects them to flourish.” — Micheline Ryckman

“Dear outsiders, even the most beautiful of wildflowers are considered weeds in the wrong gardens — what another thinks of you does not dictate your value.” — Beau Taplin

 “May your life be like a wildflower, growing freely in the beauty and joy of each day.” — Indigenous American Proverb

"If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?"  — Luke 12:28

"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." — Romans 12:2a 

I accept the following insurance plans: Premera, Regence, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Kaiser Permanente, United HealthCare, Optum, FirstChoice Health, Aetna, Tricare, and Medicare Advantage. 

I am contracted with FirstChoice Health EAP and Solution Resources EAP.

Private pay is $140 per session. I reserve a portion of slots for a sliding scale fee.

My current hours are:

• Mondays: 8:30am to 7pm
• Tuesdays: 8:30am to 4pm
• Wednesdays: 8:30am to 4pm

I am not scheduling sessions outside of these hours. Evening slots are limited and in high demand.

I'm accepting adult individual clients at this time.

Please complete  the following form if you'd like to access services:  https://forms.gle/oQH4WVkFeMnsn2wr9  

Email (preferred): shanna@sweetgrasscommons.com

Phone/Text: (509) 903-6061

Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/profile/1126560

BWRT Profile: https://www.bwrt-professionals.com/practitioners/Shanna-Porter