“Nobody checked a clock or hurried to fill the silence. I could take as long as I needed to get to the point.”
Adam P.
A space for steadiness
Trauma-focused therapy in Portland, Oregon, for first responders, veterans and the people who love them. EMDR and body-based work, at a pace you set.
- EMDR therapy
- Somatic Experiencing
- Parts work
- Couples sessions
- First responders
- Veterans and partners
- In person or by video
- Early and late hours
Quiet room. Steady pace.
I'm Dr. Miriam Mason, a licensed psychologist in Oregon. I work with trauma through EMDR, Somatic Experiencing and attachment-focused therapy. Many of the people I see are firefighters, paramedics, officers, dispatchers, nurses and veterans, and the partners who wait up for them. My approach is calm, direct and body-informed. Hollow Tree Therapy is the room I built for it: private, unhurried and out of the way. You decide how fast we go, and you never have to tell the whole story to begin.
15 min
Fit call, not therapy50 min
Individual sessions80 min
Couples sessions
- 01
Step 1: Doctorate in clinical psychology
- 02
Step 2: Licensed psychologist in Oregon
- 03
Step 3: Somatic Experiencing practitioner, Somatic Experiencing International
- 04
Step 4: EMDR therapist, trained through an EMDR International Association approved program
Sample reviews.
How the work goes
Each method is explained before it is used, and every one of them can be paused.
Individual therapy
One-on-one sessions for people who carry the job home: nights that will not settle, a body that stays on alert, calls that replay. We start with the present and move at your pace.
Somatic Experiencing
Body-based work that follows sensation rather than the story. It goes in small steps, so the work stays within what you can tolerate.
Couples sessions
For partners where one or both of you work shifts or serve. Sessions look at the pattern between you, not at who is right.
Grief and loss
Company through a death, a loss on the job, or the loss of a career or an identity. Grief has no timeline.
EMDR therapy
A structured method for distressing memories. Preparation comes first, and you can stop at any point.
What the room is for
Three things you can count on, whatever we are working on.
Pace
You choose how fast we go, and we can stop at any point.
Privacy
Your records stay private except where the law requires otherwise. I explain those limits first.
Choice
You can say no to a method, a question or a topic, and nothing changes in how I work with you.
The path in.
A clear, human way into the work.
- 01
Step 1: Reach out
Send a message and I will write back. If you would like to hear whether we are a fit first, ask for a short call.
- 02
Step 2: First session
An hour to talk about what you want from therapy. You do not have to tell me what happened to begin.
- 03
Step 3: The work
Regular sessions, usually weekly at first, built around your shifts as far as possible.
- 04
Step 4: Spacing out
Sessions can move to every other week or once a month as you decide, and the door stays open.
What clients say about the room
“I braced for a hundred questions. Instead I was asked what I wanted from the hour, and then I was listened to.”
Terry B.“The room is dim and quiet, and nobody in it needs me to be fine.”
Gina S.“She explained every step before we took it, and she stopped when I asked her to. That mattered more than I expected.”
Dagoberto M.“I did not have to tell the whole story to begin. We started with the week I was having, and that was enough.”
Keenan H.
Sample reviews.
Ready to talk?
Send a message and I will write back. Early and late hours make room for shift schedules.
Reach out.
Write a few lines, in your own time. I reply by email or phone, whichever you choose.
Phone(503) 555-0108
Hours
- Monday – ThursdayToday
- 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
- FridayToday
- 7 a.m. – 1 p.m.
- Saturday and SundayToday
- Closed