Briana is a student therapist intern pursuing a Master of Arts in professional mental health counseling with a specialization in addictions from Lewis & Clark Graduate School of Education and Counseling. Briana received her Master of Science in nutrition from the National University of Natural Medicine in 2017. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University in biological sciences with a minor in Spanish in 2010. Briana is currently completing her practicum experience at the Lewis and Clark Community Counseling Center where she is working with a diverse group of clients struggling with anxiety, depression, body image, neurodivergence, and trauma. She spent one year working in residential treatment for eating disorders and has worked as a nutritionist with clients who have disordered eating patterns.

Briana believes that a non-judgmental, warm, and collaborative approach creates a strong therapeutic connection and she aims to cultivate this for her clients. While Briana is still developing her therapeutic approach, she feels strongly about somatic, psychodynamic, and narrative orientations. Her work is informed by the principles of Health at Every Size (HAES). Briana trusts the inherent wisdom and healing capacity in each body and hopes to help create a space for this to be expressed. She acknowledges that social barriers exist within our society and approaches counseling with intersectionality and cultural identity at the forefront.

Briana grew up in central New Jersey and moved to Portland in 2016. She is grateful to the old growth forests, beautiful coast, abundance of medicinal plants, and wonderful friends that have supported her here. In her free time, Briana enjoys yoga, cooking and baking, knitting, and exploring the plants and fungi of the PNW. She acknowledges and honors the indigenous people on whose traditional and ancestral homelands we stand: the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tumwater, and Watalala bands of the Chinook; the Tualatin Kalapuya; and many other indigenous nations of the Columbia River.