Sean Barnett, LCSW
ABOUT ME
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 10 years of experience treating adults and adolescents. My approach to psychotherapy is warm, empathic, and compassionate. I treat each individual professionally and with respect, appreciating the uniqueness of each patient. I emphasize listening closely and thoughtfully as we all possess the ability to tell our story, even when we sometimes do not realize it. Together, we work to create a safe environment where you can feel open to express and explore your feelings and experiences, without judgment or emphasis on what is “right” or “wrong.” Therapy is an opportunity to learn more about ourselves and to express our feelings freely, in an effort to learn new methods of dealing with problems, being in relationships, pursuing our dreams and finding joy in life.
My approach is rooted in contemporary psychoanalytic ideas and techniques, but I also draw from cognitive-behavioral and humanistic therapies, and from my experience providing pragmatic guidance and assistance to clients in inpatient and communitiy mental health settings.
Psychoanalytic therapy is grounded in the belief that our early experiences as a child lay the foundation for the adult that we become, and that those formative experiences impact the way we see ourselves, the relationships that we form and how we respond to both adversity and success throughout our lives. Very often those early experiences shape how we think and feel without our being consciously aware of them at all. Becoming consciously aware of these influences, putting into words and seeing clearly for perhaps the first time how we came to be who we are, can allow us to live our lives with greater freedom and authenticity.
MY BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE
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.
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.