Shannon Ensinger, Clinical Intern

Hello, I’m Shannon!

I am a mental health counseling intern from the University of Western States in Portland, OR. I have a deep curiosity about human experience and a strong desire to understand emotions and identity. Working together, I would love to help you form a plan for healing while exploring your patterns, insights, and coping strategies. I value authenticity, reflection, and helping others find meaning in their own journeys, and I strive to provide an affirming, inclusive, and nonjudgmental space where clients feel supported.

Before entering the counseling field, I spent over 16 years as a master’s-prepared Registered Nurse in intensive care and nursing leadership. I transitioned into mental health counseling during a period of professional burnout alongside multiple major life transitions, giving me firsthand insight into identity shifts, grief, resilience, and the need for sustainable, values-aligned work. This background informs my work with clients navigating burnout, career concerns, trauma, and significant life changes.  I support individuals and couples across diverse relationship structures, including LGBTQIA+ and nonmonogamous relationships. Helping people become comfortable enough to explore their identity and sexuality, understand what they enjoy, and find healthy, consensual ways to express themselves sexually as they navigate life is important to me. I seek to provide affirming, sex-positive, and kink-informed care for concerns related to relationships, sexuality, sex work, intimacy, infidelity, compulsive behaviors, and identity.

My therapeutic alignment is collaborative, drawing from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help clients move toward what matters to them, Solution Focused Therapy to identify strengths and workable steps forward, Emotionally Focused Therapy to support emotional connection and relational safety, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) to help clients gradually face compulsive patterns and fears. I am also drawn toward expressive arts, nature, and somatic experiencing. These approaches keep therapy grounded, flexible, and tailored to each client’s goals. If this approach resonates with you, I invite you to connect with me to explore how we can work together to support your journey of growth and resilience.