Jamie Van Auken, MA, E-RYT 500
Registered Marriage and Family Therapy Associate
I’m so happy to meet you.
My therapeutic philosophy is grounded in the belief that we are whole - even in our deepest struggles, our essential wholeness and goodness remains intact. I practice from a nervous system-forward approach, understanding that we often feel before we think and that lasting healing happens when we create safety in the body first. My work seeks to bridge the cognitive and intuitive knowing we possess, with regulation and embodiment experience, so that we can live a connected, compassionate life.
I am registered marriage and family therapist associate (R11588) registered with the Oregon Board of Licensed Professional Counselors. I am supervised by Dr. Lana Kim (T1237) and Lori Henry (T2067).
My Education and Training
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I received my master's degree in marriage and family therapy from Lewis & Clark College and my undergraduate degree from Cornell University where I majored in Catharsis, studying the intersection of psychology, movement, identity studies and performance studies
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My specialized areas of training include:
couples counseling
child development and family therapy
somatic interventions
attachment theory
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
neurodiversity and neuro-affirming care
nature-based therapy
somatic EMDR
intimate partner violence
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I have worked as a program coordinator, yoga therapist and milieu therapist at eating disorder treatment centers in NY, WA and OR where I centered a Healthy at Every Size approach and yoga / mindfulness based interventions. I have shared mindfulness skills with semi-professional and professional athletes, including Olympians. I have spoken at conferences and colleges across the US and my work on the intersection between athletics, body denial and eating disorders is published in Carolyn Costin’s book: Yoga and Eating Disorders. I am also an E-RYT 500 certified yoga instructor, CE provider, and have lead healing retreats for over a decade. I have owned and operated a yoga studio in WA since 2012.
I practice exclusively at The Buddha’s Medicine
The Buddha’s Medicine is an integrative medicine practice that aims to restore health and quality of living to people from all walks of life. By blending Eastern healing approaches with modern Western scientific foundations, we treat both present health conditions and the subtle imbalances underneath them.
Continuing Education and Commitment to Growth
I am committed to ongoing learning that serves my clients' well-being.
I was trained to think relationally and systemically, recognizing that we are all deeply impacted by the larger cultural systems that we interact with. My training was based on systemic, structural, and relational theories and these lenses inform how I engage with all my clients. In addition to my Masters degree and graduate level training, I have pursued and completed continuing education training and studies in Internal Family Systems through the IFS Institute, nature-based therapy through Grow with Nature, and sensory-somatic strategies with MereAnn Reid and Jamie Watson. I completed my internship training at Neuortherapeutic Pedatric Therapies, a nonprofit that offers outpatient collaborative therapies and services for children, teens, families, and adults, with a focus on neurodivergence and disability-informed care. I continue to offer on-going relational work and men’s group facilitation with Allies in Change - an organization dedicated to disrupting intimate partner violence and facilitating trauma-informed anger management. I'm currently completing a somatic EMDR certification through the Embody Lab with the intention to use this evidenced-based intervention as another trauma-informed modality that supports in the body's innate capacity for nervous system-forward healing.