Mental Health Therapy
Tending to mental health is just as important as tending to physical health. And that the two are interrelated makes it that much more important. Using a holistic, collaborative, creative, and client-centered approach, our providers offer a unique experience in therapy. Sessions can include and be a blend of evidence-based trauma and mind-body techniques, mindfulness, and expressive arts - in addition, to talk therapy.
Our team of trauma-informed therapists are all trained in EMDR therapy. EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is considered by trauma experts, including the U.S. Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense and the American Psychological Association, to be a front-line treatment for PTSD. It is a type of therapy that can help people heal from overwhelming life events that contribute to chronic stress, which can lead to emotional and physical health issues. Therapy begins working immediately and can reduce trauma symptoms in as quick as a few sessions.
Services Offered:
Individuals, Couples, Families
Talk therapy
EMDR trauma & PTSD therapy
Somatic (body-oriented) therapy
Emotion Focused therapy
Complimentary Consultation
Couples Counseling
Child & Family Therapy
Sliding Scale Services with our Intern Therapists
Beneficial for:
Trauma, PTSD & complex trauma
Chronic pain & medical illnesses
Grief, loss & bereavement
Life transitions
Relationship discord (Emotionally Focused Therapy for Couples and Individuals)
Couples Therapy (monogomous, ethical non-monogomous and polyamorous relationships)
Support for other helping professionals
Anxiety & stress
Depression
Phobias
Treatment for Disordered Eating
Addictions
LGBTQIA
Domestic Violence
Sexual Assault
Childhood Abuse Recovery
Inner Child/Ego State/IFS Informed Therapy
First Responders
Mindfulness and Somatic (body based) interventions
Meet Our Providers
Dr. Julia Harrison, DSW, LSWAIC
Julia Harrison, DSW, LSWAIC, is a doctorally trained social worker and therapist who provides compassionate, trauma-informed care to individuals seeking greater balance, resilience, and wellbeing. Dr. Harrison takes a collaborative, person-centered approach to therapy, meeting clients where they are and honoring the strengths, values, and experiences they bring to the healing process.
Dr. Harrison has always been drawn to work that centers healing, empowerment, and authentic human connection. She earned her Doctorate in Social Work from the University of Southern California and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theology, which informs her appreciation for meaning-making and the deeper questions people often explore during times of transition and growth. She has extensive experience supporting individuals navigating trauma, anxiety, ADHD, family stress, and major life transitions, with a focus on helping clients develop practical tools for emotional regulation and lasting change.
Dr. Harrison celebrates neurodiversity and believes that everyone deserves care that respects how their mind and nervous system works. She focuses on nervous system regulation as a foundation for optimal health and wellness, helping clients build skills that support resilience, self-awareness, and emotional stability.
In addition to her clinical training, Dr. Harrison integrates holistic wellness practices into her work. She is certified in Sound Empowerment, a Certified Unified Yoga Instructor, and a Certified NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) Practitioner. With a strong appreciation for music and creative expression, she enjoys incorporating sound, movement, playfulness, and humor into sessions when appropriate to support engagement, connection, and healing.
Dr. Harrison welcomes individuals across the lifespan—including children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families—and enjoys working with anyone who feels drawn to collaborate with her. She strives to create a warm environment where clients feel safe exploring challenges, building strengths, and moving toward a more balanced and fulfilling life.
Gretchen Edwards, MSW, LSWAIC
Gretchen is a Licensed Clinical Social Work Associate who believes in the power of connection in finding healing in our lives. Her approach is warm, collaborative, eclectic, and relationship-focused, recognizing that growth and healing in a therapeutic environment is best supported in a foundation of safety, trust, openness, and respect. Grounded in relational, family systems, EMDR, and somatic therapies, Gretchen believes in the power of walking beside her clients on their journey to healing.
Gretchen brings a wealth of experience in working with individuals experiencing caregiver stress, chronic pain and illness, cancer, grief/loss/end of life concerns, ADHD, anxiety, depression, infertility, occupational stress, postpartum and post-adoption depression and anxiety, and parenting of aging parents. Additionally, Gretchen’s years of experience as both a potential adoptive parent-in-waiting and later an adoptive mom have given her firsthand knowledge of the tremendous challenges adoptive families face in finding resources that are adoption trauma/attachment informed for both adopted children and their parents. Her professional experiences have often focused on listening to, supporting, and encouraging individuals in hard places as they find their way to feeling truly heard and seen in both group settings and through one-on-one counseling focused on mindfulness, camaraderie, and evidence-based practices.
Children ages 4+, teens, adults
Kate Williams, MSW, LICSW
Kate is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and certified EMDR therapist.
Kate takes a warm, human-centered, and empowerment focus that supports the innate healing wisdom of each individual. Kate views her role as a guide to help others in achieving their wellness goals. Kate’s sessions are personalized, collaborative, and often include self-compassion work, mindfulness, and somatic methods. Whether you want to address depression, anxiety, trauma, grief, burn out, imposter syndrome, life transitions, or generally improving self-esteem and confidence, Kate is ready to listen closely, ask meaningful questions and collectively create a plan unique to your needs.
In addition to EMDR, Kate uses additional evidence-based therapies such as Flash Technique and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to provide a blend of more structured and less structured activities as well as both top-down and bottom-up approaches.
Kate provides telehealth therapy services to individual adults and specializes in trauma and anxiety. Kate has a particular interest in working with midlife issues, helping professionals, and welcomes anyone brand new to therapy. She enjoys working in both a primary therapist role, as well as providing adjunct EMDR as a supplemental therapy to those who already have a primary therapist.
Adults
Amanda Salazar, LMHCI
Amanda is a Clinical Mental Health Intern completing her Master’s degree in Rehabilitation. Amanda offers Low-Fee Mental Health Counseling options.
Counseling with a Mental Health track at Western Oregon University. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences and approaches her work from a holistic, integrative perspective honoring the deep connection between mind, body, and lived experience.
Amanda works with individuals, teens, couples, and families, with a special passion for supporting clients through the perinatal and postpartum seasons of life. She understands that these transitions can bring both profound joy and unexpected challenges, and she offers a steady, compassionate presence during times of change.
Her approach is person centered and humanistic at its core. Amanda believes that each individual already carries inherent strength and resilience, even when it feels out of reach. She integrates Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Narrative Therapy, and elements of Gestalt Therapy to create sessions that are both structured and deeply relational.
Amanda views therapy as a collaborative journey. She strives to cultivate a safe, affirming space where clients feel heard, empowered, and supported as they grow. With warmth, empathy, and gentle guidance, she walks alongside her clients as they build insight, develop practical tools, and reconnect with their inner capacity for change.
Intern Therapy
At VWS we are proud to support our community by providing reduced fee services for clients seeking mental health. We offer a clinical training program for graduate-level intern therapists. As part of this program, we offer low-cost counseling with fees of $90 for Individuals and $115.00 for Couples + Family therapy.
Our Intern Therapists start at different times throughout the year, most often in January or April, and see clients during their internship for up to 10-18 months. After that time, clients can continue with their therapist once they become a VWS employee, or be transitioned to another VWS therapist to continue their care. Learn more about our Intern Therapists below!