Denise Stuntzner

Hello! Congratulations for your willingness to reach out to the BetterHelp community! Change and peace of mind are absolutely possible to achieve and therapy is a helpful and effective way to reach your goals. I understand the importance of picking a therapist you can relate to and who possesses the experience and skill set that will work best for you. My name is Denise Stuntzner and I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker practicing in Oregon (since 2006) and also, licensed in Montana, currently working with a small private practice in rural Oregon. I have a total of 22 years providing psychotherapy for a wide variety of issues and populations, though I have worked in multiple areas of human services since 1984. I graduated from Portland State University in 1990 with a Master in Social Work. For the first 9 years, I worked for a child & family mental health research institute and in a domestic violence agency. While raising my 2 sons for the next 20+ years, I returned to clinical practice in child & family mental health, rehabilitation, hospice, medical settings, and child welfare. Specifically, I worked for 10 years with the Coquille Indian Tribe as their Wellness Program Coordinator, assisting tribal members and employees on health improvement strategies and then as a Qualified Mental Health Professional for Bay Area Hospital, mostly on the Inpatient Psychiatric Unit and conducting emergency psychiatric evaluations in the ED. For 3 years after that, I worked as an Integrated Behavioral Health Clinician at our area’s largest outpatient medical clinic, primarily with patients in Internal Medicine, Family Practice and OB. I have also served as a Field Instructor for the Graduate School of Social Work at Portland State University and am also a state-certified Clinical Supervisor for those in the process of getting their LCSW. On a side note, I am an accomplished competitive swimmer: a former Big 10 Champion & record holder in the 100 & 200 Butterfly events, NCAA All American, and a 2014 Masters World Champion. I continue to swim, love to ski and travel. I enjoy time with my sons, pets and extended family. My approach is active, straight-forward, goal-oriented, and client-centered. I use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). Both modalities are hands-on, practical approaches to problem-solving. I often intertwine Mindfulness practices and neuroscience into my interventions. CBT treatment usually involves efforts to change thinking patterns and behaviors. The goals are to identify barriers or cycles and create a plan together to change patterns of thinking or behavior that underlie difficult situations and affect a person’s functioning at work or home, and in relationships. This helps people address patterns of coping, reacting and thinking that are no longer helpful and to learn to live better with life’s full variety of stressors. With Covid2019 a part of our reality now, stress is a bigger problem than ever. Difficult and painful times are part of the human experience, but they don’t have to rule a person’s life. Seeking help can be a vulnerable step to take. Exploring the healing process or enriching one’s personal growth requires establishing rapport and trust. Change is not easy, but it is possible. It would be my honor to work with you.