Licensed Professional Counselor · Portland, Oregon
Therapy to help bring change
I'm Matthew Block, and I work with teens, adults, and couples building self-awareness and lasting change — through cognitive therapy, Enneagram-informed personality work, and a collaborative approach to provide new avenues for change.
(in-person coming) Accepting new clients Insurance Accepted
- B.A., Multnomah University
- M.A. in Counseling, Western Seminary
- Previously with Sundstrom Clinical Services, River Ridge Counseling, and Northwest ADHD Treatment Center
About
A collaborative approach to therapy
I'm a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Oregon, working with teens, adults, couples, and families. My clients are often navigating ADHD, anxiety, depression, identity development, parenting, and questions of faith and meaning. I believe we're shaped by temperament, life experience, and the relationships — past and present — that matter most to us.
My approach draws on cognitive methods, examining the thoughts and beliefs that keep us stuck, alongside personality work rooted in the Enneagram. Therapy is a collaborative process built on trust and empathy. I want to earn your trust and better understand you. From there, we can identify how your personality may be keeping you stuck, and that knowledge can lead to freedom and healing. My hope is that you know yourself so well that you can use your own strengths to overcome the difficult circumstances you continually find yourself in.
Specialties
How I can help
I offer a supportive, empathic approach with direct feedback when it's needed. I can help by clarifying a possible diagnosis, or simply by helping you better understand yourself through personality work. I love working with parents through the challenges of each developmental stage in a child's life, as well as supporting couples in building better communication and understanding with each other.
ADHD
ADHD is a deficit in dopamine. That does not mean a deficit in intelligence — people with ADHD are often very intelligent, they just lack the ability to regulate their dopamine to stay focused on difficult or boring tasks. I'll work to help you understand what's going on with your attention difficulty, behavioral techniques to improve focus, and when medication may be appropriate. I can't prescribe medication, but I can help walk you through the process of getting a prescriber.
Anxiety
When your mind won't stop running through worst-case scenarios, it's exhausting. We'll look at the thought patterns driving the anxiety and build tools to help you get some control of your mind and body. Developing control over your thoughts leads to more and more control over your anxiety, the more you're able to catch the thought patterns as they happen.
Depression
Depression can make even small tasks feel impossible. Therapy isn't about forcing positivity, it's about understanding what's underneath the low mood and finding your way back to yourself. My goal is to first identify ways we can improve your depression before taking the step toward medication. I can also work with a prescriber to support you in starting or stopping antidepressants. This isn't something I rush — deciding to start or stop medication takes a well-thought-out treatment plan that we'll build together.
Parenting support
New fatherhood shifts everything: sleep, identity, your relationship, your sense of who you are. I offer a space for dads to talk honestly about the parts of early parenthood that don't get talked about enough. I also enjoy supporting parents through the confusing and difficult stages kids go through. Parents often create the biggest impact on a child, both positive and negative — we can work together to better understand what's going on with your child and how you can support them where they're at.
Couples
Every couple should do couples counseling at some point in their relationship. Whether you're working through a rough patch or just want to improve communication to avoid one, I help people communicate more clearly and understand what's really going on underneath the conflict. I work with couples at any level — through affairs, the strain parenting brings, or just improving communication. Don't save couples counseling as a last resort; the earlier we can intervene, the more we can get done.
Enneagram counseling
Enneagram-informed counseling
I've used the Enneagram both personally and professionally for over 20 years, and I bring it into the personality work I do with clients. For people experiencing anxiety and depression, it can feel like a shortcut to making change happen.
Often, it's our personality unchecked that can create negative patterns that leave us feeling stuck, anxious, or hopeless. By identifying your Enneagram type, we can get to the root of those patterns, and how to change them. From there, I help you build self-awareness of why the patterns happen, to help you choose a different thought or behavior, instead of continuing the same pattern on autopilot.
Get scheduled todayMethods
Ways I work
Every client's path looks a little different. Here's what I draw on, depending on what fits.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Enneagram-informed personality work
- Family & marital therapy
- Emotionally focused therapy
- Family systems
- Strength-based counseling
Fees & insurance
What sessions cost
| Intake session | $200 |
| Individual session, 45 min | $155 |
| Individual session, 60 min | $195 |
| Couples session | $195 |
Insurance accepted
- Aetna
- PacificSource Health Plans
- Moda Health
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
Don't see your plan? I also work with out-of-network and self-pay clients and can provide a superbill for reimbursement.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Do you work with people outside the state of Oregon?
I can work with anyone physically located in the state of Oregon. For telehealth, you'd need to be located within Oregon, since I'm not licensed outside of the state. If Oregon ever joins the Counseling Compact, this will change.
Do you work with people who don't want therapy?
Short answer: no. But I do work with people who don't want to be there, as long as they're willing to come to the session. If it's a teen who doesn't want to talk to a therapist, it's often more effective to work with the parents instead. If it's a spouse who doesn't want to do couples counseling, it's almost impossible to get anywhere with someone who doesn't want help. But if someone is motivated to give it a try, even if they don't want to be there, I'm happy to meet them where they're at. Starting therapy can be intimidating, and I like to help people feel comfortable being there.
Do you offer both telehealth and in-person therapy?
I'm currently only doing telehealth, as of fall 2026 I'm in between offices. As soon as I find the right fit, I'll get back to offering in-person sessions. I do love in-person work, so hopefully that's back on offer soon!
What is the Enneagram?
The Enneagram is a personality-type system that predates modern psychology. It identifies patterns of thought and behavior into nine types, with 27 variations in total, based on motivations, fears, and instincts. The name comes from the Greek words ennea (nine) and gramma (something drawn or written). It's a robust tool that helps us get to the core of your challenges and understand how to make lasting change.
How does using insurance work for billing?
Part of your intake paperwork is sending a photo of your insurance card, front and back. I'll bill your insurance, they'll let me know your coverage, and you're responsible for payment from there. I'm not responsible for knowing the details of your specific coverage, but I can help point you in the right direction. Call the number on the back of your insurance card and verify that I'm in network with your plan, since some specialty plans don't cover every in-network provider. It's rare, but it happens. While you're on the phone, ask about your deductible, your copay, and whether telehealth and in-person therapy are covered the same way. There are too many plan variations within each insurance company to track, so please confirm your coverage before scheduling, as it is your responsibility to know your plan.
Contact
Book an appointment today
Fill out the form and I'll follow up to set up a free 15-minute consultation, or reach out directly.