Christian Wolff, MA, Portland Psychologist Associate / Consultant

CHRISTIAN WOLFF, MA Licensed Psychologist Associate/Consultant
820 NW 21st Avenue, Suite B . Portland. Oregon . 97209 . 503-284-4501 . christian@christianwolff.com

Organic . Sustainable . Holistic . Natural . Alternative . Mindfulness Based . Strength Based
Culturally Diverse . Buddhist & Christian Background

A Basic Overview of my Work:

I treat:

Anxiety disorders including generalized
anxiety, specific phobias, Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD), Obsessive
Compulsive Disorder (OCD), agoraphobia,
panic disorders, social phobia, and adjustment
disorders with features of anxiety.

Mood disorders including various forms of
depression and bipolar depression (also
known as manic depression), dysthymia,
cyclothymia, and adjustment disorders with
depressed mood.

Addiction related disorders including
substance abuse and dependence.

Psychotic disorders including schizophrenia
and mood disorders with psychotic features.

Personality Disorders including borderline
personality disorder, narcissistic personality
disorder, avoidant personality disorder,
obsessive-compulsive personality disorder,
and others.

Disorders usually first apparent in childhood
but found in adults such as attachment
disorders and adult Attention
Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD or
ADD).

I also counsel people on a wide range of
matters which are not considered disorders
by the American Psychiatric Association
including:

Marital and relationship difficulties.

Uncomplicated bereavement (grieving losses).

Phase of life difficulties (such as those
associated with leaving home for the first
time, reaching adulthood, reaching middle
age, and coming upon retirement).

Services I offer include:

Psychological treatment including
psychotherapy, psychological assessment and
diagnosis, and referrals to psychiatrists and
other mental health providers when
medications or naturopathy may be
appropriate.

Counseling including, but not limited to, grief
and loss, marital difficulties, relationship
concerns, life changes and transitions, job
and school stress, gender issues, anger
management, family conflict, loneliness and
isolation, social problems, spiritual matters
and matters related to political issues.

Coaching which focuses on self-improvement,
self-actualization, and the attainment of
specific goals toward personal excellence.

Teaching and education which focuses on the
development of new skills and abilities,
sometimes remedial and sometimes advanced.

Other services which include mediation,
clinical supervision, and consultation to
business and community organizations.

Approaches to treatment include:

Solution Focused Treatment
Cognitive Therapies
Behavioral Strategies
Cognitive/Behavioral Therapies (CBT)
Rational Emotive Therapy (RET)
Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT)
Developmental Approaches
Client Centered Therapies
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Psychodynamic and Object Relations

Approaches

Integrative Therapies
Existential Therapies
Experiential Therapies
Approaches built on Systems Theory
Approaches drawn from Buddhist

Psychology

Therapy and counseling modalities include

Individuals
Couples
Families
Partners
Pairs & Small Groups

Ages served:

Adults
Older adolescents (ages 16 & 17)

I will work with younger children if they are
a part of family counseling or otherwise seen
along with an adult.

Areas served:

Multnomah County, including Portland and
Greshham.
Washington County, including Hillsboro and
Beaverton.
Clackamas County, including Lake Oswego
and Oregon City.

Some useful links:

Alcohol & Drug Helpline
American Mental Health Alliance
Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare (for those on
the Oregon Health Plan)
LifeWorks NW (for those on the Oregon
Health Plan)
Center for Natural Medicine
National Library of Medicine
Portland Women's Crisis Line
Portland Impact

Christian's Professional History:

Christian Wolff, like most people, has pieced
together a world view from a variety of
experiences. Many of his life experiences have
been in the therapist's office listening to people
tell him about what matters to them most. He
has learned much and has come to draw from a
variety of cultural and world views. Christian
draws from eastern and western philosophies,
from the philosophies of science, from the
philosophies of religion, philosophies of the
affluent, philosophies of the oppressed, from his
formal teachings and from his continuingly
developed skills of empathy, imagination and
faith.

Christian Wolff has been practicing as a
psychotherapist for over 15 years. He received
his Masters Degree in Clinical Psychology in
1993, but his experience in the delivery of
psychological and counseling services began in
1979 when he became the Coordinator of
Services at the Fone Crisis Center, a suicide
hotline and walk-in center at Kansas State
University.

After achieving a Bachelors Degree in
Psychology, Christian worked for over 6 years
at a state psychiatric hospital in Topeka,
Kansas. His work there was with adolescents
and it was there that he developed an interest
in the treatment of Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) and other disorders related to
sexual and physical abuse in childhood. This
lead to specialization in the treatment of
Borderline Personality Disorder and
Dissociative Identity Disorder (also known as
DID or Multiple Personality Disorder).
Presently, Christian works primarily with
adults and has intentionally cultivated a general
practice based upon his beliefs regarding
treatment.

From 1997 until 2003, Christian worked as a
psychotherapist with Tualatin Valley Centers
(presently known as LifeWorks NW), one of
the best community mental health centers in
the Portland area. There he helped people with
problems which ranged from seemingly simple
difficulties such as mild depression to the more
complex disorders such as schizophrenia.
Through this range of experience, Christian has
come to see a continuity in the problems which
people face. He is a strong believer in the
human spirit and has been enjoying the
expansion of his private practice over the
course of the past 5 years.

In addition to his private practice, Christian has
recently worked as a Supervisor of Volunteers
with the Oregon Office of the Long-Term Care
Ombudsman and has worked, through
Clackamas County, with those impaired by
severe mental illness. He currently sits on the
Board of Directors of the American Mental
Health Alliance in Oregon, a national
organization dedicated to the oversight of
ethical practice in the fields of mental health.

Types of mental health professionals:

There are many types of mental health
professionals. Some people will find it useful to
work with more than one. I've listed the main
types below with some brief descriptions.

Psychologists (Ph.D.'s, Psy.D.'s, Ed.D.'s):
Usually, psychologists have doctoral degrees and
are licensed by the state to practice psychology.

Psychologist Associates (MA's, MS's):
Usually psychologist associates have masters
degrees and are licensed by the state to practice
psychology. About 5% in Oregon are required
to practice under supervision, but 95% are
advanced psychologist associates and are
licensed to practice psychology independently
and without restriction.

Psychiatrists (MD's):
Psychiatrists are medical doctors licensed to
prescribe medicine. Their focus is on mental
health medication and most often, they do not
provide counseling or psychotherapy.

Licensed Professional Counselors
(LPC's):Licensed Professional Counselors
usually have masters degrees and are licensed
to practice counseling.

Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSW's):
Licensed Clinical Social Workers have masters
degrees and are licensed to practice counseling.

Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners (PMHNP's):
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners have masters
degrees in nursing and are licensed to prescribe
medicine. Their focus is on mental health
medication and most often, they do not provide
counseling or psychotherapy.

Licensed Marriage & Family Therapists
(LMFT's):
Licensed Marriage and Family Counselors
usually have masters degrees and are licensed
to practice counseling. Their training has
emphasized marriage and family work.

Case Managers:
Case managers usually work through state and
county agencies. In addition to mental health
work, they often assist people with other needs
such as housing and transportation when the
person they are helping cannot do these things
for themselves. The training and education of
Case Managers vary.

Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselors
(CADC's):
Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselors are
certified to provide alcohol and drug counseling.
Certification is different from licensing.
Usually, CADC's have at least a two year
associates degree. A CADC may or may not
have one of the licenses described above and
may or may not be qualified to provide other
mental health services.