Psychologist and Therapist in Portland, OR Clark Rector, Psychologist

Clark integrates several contemporary psychotherapeutic approaches to help his clients with a variety of challenges. He is influenced by compassion-focused therapy, Buddhist psychology, mindfulness training, Internal Family System (IFS-informed), motivational interviewing, harm reduction for addiction, psychodynamic theory including self-psychology, working with metaphors, and affect theory. Of all the human affects (the biological portion of emotion), Clark believes understanding shame, fear, and joy are probably the three most important. Clark looks for opportunities to use experiential learning in session (e.g., mindfulness and compassion training). Clark has received training in treating Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRBs) behaviorally.

He is also influenced by ecopsychology, and believes the effects of geopolitical events can create significant stress and trauma. Clark is interested in the modern sciences in general and has a background in wildlife biology. He is informed about human attachment and is dedicated to continuing to improve his understanding and treatment of psychological trauma. He has not found it helpful to differentiate between so-called “big T trauma” and “small t trauma” – rather, he believes that all of us have experienced deep challenges and traumas in our lives, regardless of psychological and socioeconomic factors. Clark strives to build strong working alliances with his clients and with all staff members, and works hard to facilitate good client experiences in therapy. His dissertation was titled “Shame and Stigma in Psychotherapy – A Quantitative Investigation”, in which he studied the relationship between stigma and shame and asked 283 participants about their experiences in therapy. Clark is not an expert in LGBTQ+ issues but is LGBTQ+ friendly.