Madeleine Wilson – True Heart Therapy

Hi, it's nice to meet you!

I'm Madeleine Wilson, and I'm glad you're here.

What is a fun fact about myself?
I love women’s sports! I’m a huge fan of the Portland Thorns, college volleyball, and artistic gymnastics which I follow year-round—yes, you really can watch it outside of the Olympics! I love the feeling of being so deeply invested in a team or an athlete’s journey that you’re willing to tune in through all the highs and all the lows of the season.

What can you expect as my client?

If you begin therapy with me, you can expect a deeply collaborative approach to creating change in your life. No one knows your life better than you do, but as we get to know each other and I learn more about your life, your experiences, your contexts, and your worldview, I can help you notice places where you might be able to make small changes in order to get you closer to your goals. Our work together will primarily be today-oriented—we’ll spend most of our time talking about the things that concern you today or this week—though there will always be space to invite past experiences or future hopes into the room when they feel important. As a systemic therapist, I also believe that relationships themselves are inherently healing and I think there’s a lot of power in the ritual of having a regular, routine encounter with another person on your schedule to look forward to each week.

Pronouns: They/Them

Who am I outside of therapy?

Outside of my work as a therapist, I spend most of my time reading books, creating art, or roaming the parks of Portland with my dog, Phoebe. I also like to spend my days off at the river because, as someone who grew up on the California coast, I tend to get pretty homesick for the ocean when I’ve been away from it for too long.

How did I become a therapist?

Like many folks who enter this field, therapy is not my first career. Prior to becoming a therapist, I spent years working as a stage manager and prop designer for professional theater companies all across California. I’ve also worked my fair share of restaurant industry jobs which is where I learned that I really love getting to know new people—something that I still love doing as a therapist. My educational background is in religious studies, and I found my way to the field of therapy through my interest in hospice chaplaincy and hospice care. While I ultimately decided to pursue a career in talk therapy, I know that grief, loss, and mortality are topics that are just as important in this field as they are in hospice work.

I am currently a Masters student at Lewis & Clark College studying Marriage, Couples, and Family Therapy. I’ve also attended trainings on using Existential-Humanistic therapy with clients experiencing suicidal ideation and on conducting sex therapy with erotically marginalized clients.

Prior to becoming a therapist, I spent five years working with children, teens, and parents at different children’s theaters in California. Though I was interacting with kids and their families in a very different context than the therapy room, these experiences provided me with skills for communicating big ideas across different ages and for incorporating play and/or movement into my work whenever possible to ensure that even the most serious conversations still feel engaging for all ages.
Since beginning my graduate education to become a therapist, I’ve co-facilitated a support group for 6th graders aimed at building community and fostering individuality at a local Portland middle school.

First and foremost, I want to work with folks who feel open to change. I’m excited to do therapeutic work with you, and it’s helpful if you’re also relatively excited to be there with me. With that said, I do know that therapy is work. Processing your past and your present is work. Being excited, eager, and energized for every session is not a prerequisite for working with me and it isn’t the expectation either. I’m ready to meet you where you are, and I hope that you’re able to approach our sessions with a bit of openness to explore different perspectives on the things that are feeling difficult in your life.

I’m interested in working with couples, with queer and trans folks, with non-monogamous and/or poly folks, and with teens and young adults. If you happen to be none of those things but you have a feeling that we’d be a good fit, I would love to hear from you too!