Ariel Malia:
Licensed Professional Counselor, Marriage & Family Therapist
Counseling has been my passion for over twenty years. I began my career as a camp counselor in 1993, moved into director of counselors, and soon after began my professional education and experience as a therapist. After interning at William Temple House in downtown Portland, I became a family therapist at Youth Contact in Hillsboro. Over the last six years, I have worked as a substance abuse specialist and family therapist for the Beaverton School District. These experiences have allowed me the opportunity to help families and their students find success in a variety of ways — most importantly opening lines of communication that tend to get muddled during the adolescent years.
While working with individuals, couples, adolescents, and families I use a variety of therapeutic techniques. The combining of cognitive-behavioral, solution focused, and family systemic therapy is my holistic and direct approach; I believe this multi-disciplinary approach is most effective in creating change. It takes courage to explore yourself, strength to look back into your history, and patience in our process. During our time together, we will collaboratively establish a plan to create meaningful change.
Clients seek out therapy for a variety of reasons. When feeling depressed, anxious, guilty because you are drinking too much, or just plain stuck, it is difficult to see how life can be different. Engaging in therapy brings these vulnerabilities
to the surface where they can be explored and understood. With genuine care and compassionate exploration, I will create an environment where the difficult questions can be addressed allowing for clarification and growth.
Focusing on my clients strengths, and establishing that honest rapport is the key to my therapeutic practice. My client enters the room, I meet them where they are, and together, we move to where they want to be.