Lizz Schallert, LCSW | Portland, OR

About me

My Story

My Philosophy

In my work as a therapist, mediator, and facilitator I use a Person-Centered approach that trusts in people’s innate ability to heal and overcome tremendous circumstances. My role is to hold space for this process of healing and self-discovery. I see our work as collaborative and trust we all have tools, skills, creativity and experience to bring to this process together.

I seek to honor not only your individual experiences, but also the broader systems that impact you and each of our daily lives. Each of us live, play, and exist within broader historical, cultural, socio-political, economic and environmental contexts. The health of our communities is intrinsically linked to personal health. There are many cultural, political, environmental, and economic forces that impact individual well-being. Honoring this connection between individual and collective helps us explore the impact of, and tools for overcoming, broader systems of oppression; meanwhile honoring your unique lived experience in a contextualized framework. It also allows us to link personal transformation with systemic change.

I understand that each person comes to therapy, consultation or mediation with specific goals for their work. This is our central focus together. In my work we can explore a wide range of modalities and creative tools to aid these goals. I hold a particular interest in conflict mediation, boundary work, narrative approaches, somatics or body-based practices, psychodynamic approaches, IFS and EMDR, and practical tools for nervous system regulation and trauma resilience to facilitate change. I am currently focusing a large part of my practice on facilitation and consultation with workers and unions at nonprofits to support frontline care workers on the job, in addition to my 1:1 client work.

I look forward to every new person I have the honor of working with, and to the creative process of forwarding change and strengthening collective resilience together.

I completed my Masters in Social Work (MSW) from Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ in 2009. I have spent the past 15+ years at the intersections of community organizing, education and care work. I've had the huge privilege of facilitating and co-creating a variety of community-based projects, including: a trauma support program in a county jail, a Circle of Care therapist network for activists doing international human rights work, a food stamp program for area farmers markets, cross-border solidarity campaigns, worker unionization campaigns, direct actions focused on racial, economic, and environmental justice, and participatory education and research projects with university students.

In 2012 I completed training with Intensive Trauma Therapy Inc. in Morgantown, WV, an intensive outpatient program that utilizes a unique method of combined art and narrative therapies to work with dissociation, anxiety and post-traumatic stress. This experience confirmed my passion for linking trauma care to social change, and I went on to complete trainings in other modalities like Somatic and Body-Based Therapies, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises (TRE®), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

I completed my exam as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) in the state of Oregon in 2017 after working in community mental health agencies. I have worked primarily with clients deeply impacted by the socio-political and economic systems we live in; like clients experiencing poverty, navigating the immigration system, and navigating the prison system. As a queer and non-binary person, it is a joy to work with other queer, trans, and gender-expansive clients. I have had the privilege of accompanying clients through many challenges and life transitions, including; anxiety, trauma, chronic illness, grief and loss, systemic violence, coming out and gender transition, depression, underemployment and workplace issues, and identity and relationship concerns.

I also believe in the power of generative conflict to heal relationships and the web that connect us. I have completed trainings and certification in conflict mediation and dispute resolution, and continue to provide a range of consultations for workplaces to support worker wellbeing. Because of my experience with union organizing and campaign work, I also provide specific consultations for frontline workers facing on the job concerns, starting unions, needing support with union contract bargaining, or Know Your Rights trainings.

License and Training

LCSW with Oregon Board of Licensed Social Workers

As a licensee of the Oregon Board of Social Workers, I abide by its Code of Ethics. While I am no longer required to be under clinical supervision, I seek out regular consultation with professional peers. Please do not hesitate to ask if you have questions about this.

EMDR: Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

Completed Level I and Level II EMDR trainings for individual practice in 2016 through Trauma Recovery: EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs (HAP)

Certified TRE® Provider

Certified to provide individual and group TRE® sessions since 2016.

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Intensive Trauma Therapy

Completed 40-Hour training with Intensive Trauma Therapy Inc. (ITT) in Morgantown, WV in January 2013.

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Conflict Transformation and Mediation

Completed 32-hour Alternative Dispute Resolution training and certification through Education for Conflict Resolution (ECR) in North Manchester, IN in 2011.

Completed 21-hour Victim Offender Conferencing training and certification through Good Shepherd Mediation Center in Philadelphia, PA in 2012.