Online Therapy for Overwhelmed Adults in Portland, Oregon
Helping you stop running on empty so you can feel like yourself again
Therapy for overwhelmed adults in Portland and across Oregon navigating anxiety, burnout, people-pleasing, and life transitions.
Does it feel like you’ve lost yourself somewhere between the worry, the to-do list, and everyone else’s needs?
You’re used to being the dependable one. An invaluable employee at work, the one who keeps everything running at home, and the person everyone else relies on.
On the outside, it looks like you’re handling it all. Underneath, your mind rarely slows down. There’s a constant hum of worry, exhaustion that doesn’t go away with rest, and a nagging feeling that you’d have to think for a minute if someone asked you what you actually enjoy anymore. It can feel like you’re constantly anticipating everyone else’s needs while exhausting yourself in the process.
Deep down, something in you knows this isn’t the life you were meant to be living.
I believe therapy works best when we understand the patterns that keep you stuck in over-responsibility, anxiety, and burnout.
I’m Stephanie Schaefer, Psy.D., the founder of OtterWell Mental Health LLC and a psychologist specializing in helping adults who feel overwhelmed by the demands of daily life and worn down from holding everything together.
Many of the people I work with appear high-functioning on the outside, and internally feel anxious, stretched too thin, and like there’s never enough space to care for themselves.
We’ll get curious about what’s going on underneath it all, and build tools that fit your actual life, not a fairytale version of how it’s supposed to be.
Over time, therapy can help you actually be present at dinner with the people you love, rather than checking your phone every few minutes to make sure you haven’t missed anything important.
We are a good fit if you…
- Want an active, engaged therapist
- Want both insight and practical tools
- Want a therapist who’ll tell you the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable
- Appreciate humor in the therapeutic process
- Want to leave sessions with something you can use, not just something to think about
We are not a good fit if you…
- Prefer therapy that stays mostly reflective without much active feedback
- Are looking for quick fixes
- Don’t value engaging in the work outside of session
- Prefer rigid, highly structured sessions
- Prefer therapy that stays focused mostly on in-session processing
Anxiety & Overwhelm
Your mind won’t turn off and it feels impossible to relax. We’ll work together to slow your overthinking and help you feel more calm and grounded.
Burnout & Stress
You’ve always been an overachiever, and it’s starting to take a toll. We’ll focus on lightening the load and finding a pace that doesn’t leave you flattened by Friday.
People-Pleasing & Boundaries
You put others first and struggle to set limits, even when it costs you. We’ll dig into what’s behind that so you can start saying “yes” to yourself.
Life Transitions
Life is changing, and somewhere along the way, you’ve started to lose touch with yourself. We’ll navigate those shifts while helping you feel confident in who you are and where you want to go next.
Support is closer (and simpler) than you think–here’s how to get started.
- Schedule a free consultation
We’ll have a brief, low-pressure conversation about what’s been weighing on you, what kind of support you’re looking for, and whether we feel like a good fit.
- Build a plan together
In your intake session, we’ll take a deeper look at what’s been driving the overwhelm and the pressure to keep showing up for everyone else at your own expense. We’ll create a plan that feels realistic and doable in your actual day-to-day life.
- Start showing up for yourself, not just everyone else
Over time, you’ll begin to quiet the constant sense of urgency, set boundaries with less guilt, and stop treating your own needs as optional.
Online therapy that fits into your life
All sessions are provided online through secure video for clients located in Oregon, making it easy to access support without sacrificing extra time to commuting and parking.
Many people appreciate being able to attend therapy from the comfort and privacy of their own space–whether that’s at home, in a quiet office, or somewhere else they feel at ease.
The goal is to make support easier to access so you can focus your energy on feeling better.
You don’t have to keep living like this.
It’s possible to actually taste your coffee in the morning instead of drinking it on autopilot between tasks–without always feeling like you’re falling behind. You can fall asleep with your jaw unclenched and your mind finally quiet, instead of replaying every conversation and decision from the day.
