Spencer Uemura, LCSW

*Limited Openings & Waitlist ~ BIPOC Clients*

I accompany people on their journey to a more grounded and liberated life. I facilitate sessions that explore how we have been hurt but also how we heal, especially by incorporating one’s intersecting identities and cultural experiences. I deeply enjoy coming alongside those looking to deepen their self-awareness and resilience. I also love working with Asian American adults and other BIPOC folks interested in exploring and healing from the impacts of history, oppression, and culture on mental health and wellbeing.

I graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in Biology, before getting my Masters of Social Work at Portland State University. I work from a background understanding of psychology, neuroscience, and the body, as well as a grounded practice of compassionate listening. I have received training in approaches such as psychoanalysis, CBT, DBT, Narrative Therapy, and somatic experiencing. I am a lifelong learner and engage in my own emotional healing work as a foundation of providing good therapy to others.

In session, I draw from narrative, compassion-focused, embodied, and anti-oppressive approaches as well as my lived experience of marginalization. Sessions are compassionate and sacred spaces in which you can explore past trauma and current distresses, bringing in the key elements of your identity that make your experience unique. If your cultural experience has been left out of therapy in the past, I am skilled at incorporating and integrating this important aspect of your story.

We are all essentially good, loving, creative, and courageous, but oppression hinders our ability to see that and act from that deep truth. With unconditional support, we can release the distress, nourish our resilience, and live out our values.