Authentic Movement is a relational movement practice centered on deep listening, embodied expression, and witnessing. In this practice, one person moves while another witnesses with attentive presence, creating space to be seen in authenticity without judgment or performance. Through spontaneous movement, stillness, and reflection, Authentic Movement invites communication through the body and cultivates awareness, connection, and trust in inner experience.

Facilitator Bio: Sarah-Luella Baker (Sarah-Lu) facilitates Authentic Movement spaces focused on embodiment, presence, and relational witnessing. Their work supports participants in exploring authentic expression through movement, reflection, and compassionate observation. Sarah-Lu is a transdisciplinary artist, witch, somatic practitioner, and experiential evolutionary astrologer. An RSMT/E with an MFA in dance, they weave somatics, ritual, ancestry, astrology, and radical education in service of individual and collective liberation. Sarah-Luella is a graduate student in Mindfulness-Based Transpersonal Counseling at Naropa University. Supervisor #: Brad Byrum #T2185

When: 10 AM- noon Saturdays, Sept 12, Oct 10, Nov 7, Dec 12
Where: SE Portland, Location shared upon RSVP. We will provide the Zoom/Google Meet link or physical address after registration to support privacy and confidentiality.
Cost: Donation-based
RSVP Email: [sarah-lu@liberationinstitute.org](mailto:sarah-lu@liberationinstitute.org)

When: Wednesdays, beginning July 29, 2026

Time: 6:00-7:30 pm

Where: Online (link provided when registering)

Cost: Free

To RSVP or learn more: jean-paul@liberationinstitute.org

Positive Masculinity is a therapy group for anyone who identifies as a man, including cis and trans men. Together we’ll explore what kind of man we want to be through honest conversation, reflection, and shared experience. We’ll examine the messages we’ve inherited about masculinity with curiosity rather than judgment, exploring how they shape our relationships, work, purpose, friendship, love, fatherhood, sexuality, and the expectations we carry in a changing world. This is not about finding the “right” way to be a man, but about discovering what authenticity, integrity, and connection look like for each of us.

About the Facilitator: JP Jenkins is a clinical mental health counseling intern whose work is informed by over 30 years in the creative arts, mindfulness practice, and a deep interest in relationships, identity, and human flourishing. He integrates mindfulness, somatic awareness, and evidence-based therapeutic approaches to create spaces where people can slow down, reflect honestly, and deepen their relationships with themselves and others. JP is supervised by Brad Byrum (license #T2185)

To RSVP or learn more: Email brittneyv@liberationinstitute.org

The Long Beginning is a process-oriented space for women in the midst of early adulthood who are navigating anxiety, identity, relationships, and the pressures of becoming someone in the world. Group sessions will include relational sharing, gentle somatic awareness, reflection, and facilitated group dialogue. Curiosity, honesty, and a willingness to show up as you are are all that is required.

About the Facilitator: Brittney Van Matre is a depth-oriented facilitator who works with anxiety, identity development, career change, and life transitions. She brings 20+ years of executive leadership and coaching experience to her practice. Brittney works with women in early adulthood who are navigating career stress, relationships, and the uncertainty of this life stage. She brings warmth, steadiness, and deep respect for the unfolding process of change. Brittney is a therapist trainee, supervised by Brad Byrum #T2185.

Time: 6-7 PM

Where: via Zoom/Drop-in

Suggested donation: $5-10 per weekly session. Donations welcome but no one turned away due to lack of funds 

To join contact: groups@liberationinstitute.org

Description: This group is dedicated to honoring the deep bonds we share with our animal friends and the profound impact they have on our lives. The loss of an animal companion can be deeply painful, and yet often misunderstood or minimized by others. People often tell us things like “just get another pet,” leaving many feeling unseen in their grief. This group offers a safe, compassionate space to honor and process animal-specific grief – a very real and often invalidated form of loss. Whether you’ve lost a beloved companion animal, you are experiencing anticipatory grief for a companion animal, or you work in a setting where animal loss or euthanasia is part of the job – such as veterinary care, animal shelters, or rescue organizations – you are welcome here. Guided by two compassionate therapists who have also experienced the pain of animal loss, this group offers a safe, supportive space to process animal-specific grief – a form of loss that deserves to be seen, validated, and supported. Through guided discussions, somatic experiencing and therapeutic exercises participants can share memories, explore emotions, and utilize tools that promote resilience. You’ll have the opportunity to connect with others who truly understand what it means to lose animal friends – and to be reminded that your grief is valid, your bond was real, and you are not alone.

Facilitators: Steve Dumain & Kelly Duane de la Vega

Steve “Dumain” is pursuing his Master’s in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Depth Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. He currently serves as a Marriage and Family Therapist Trainee at the Liberation Institute, providing telehealth therapy for individuals, couples, and groups across California. His clinical orientation draws from various styles, including depth, somatic and family systems psychology; including trauma-informed practices, and mindfulness-based approaches. His work emphasizes the integration of the unconscious, body awareness, and relational healing to foster self-understanding and resilience and a mindset of growth and wisdom. He is particularly interested in working with clients navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, identity development, and relational issues. With a strong commitment to inclusivity and social justice, Steven aims to support individuals from a wide range of backgrounds and identities through an integrative and compassionate therapeutic approach.

Kelly Duane de la Vega is pursuing her Master’s in Counseling Psychology with a focus on depth work, taking a psychodynamic approach to therapy. She currently serves as a Marriage and Family Therapist (MFT) Trainee at the Liberation Institute, providing telehealth therapy for individuals, couples, and groups throughout California. She also co-facilitates a grief and loss support group at a senior community center in San Rafael.

Kelly is a lifelong pet owner who considers animals to be vital members of the family and essential parts of one’s support network. She understands the profound bond that can form between a person and their pet, and the unique pain of navigating that loss in a society that often minimizes or misunderstands its significance. She brings both personal experience and clinical sensitivity to her work with clients processing pet loss and bereavement.

Kelly Duane is Supervised by a Licensed Person, LMFT #78183

Time: 515pm-645pm

Where: The Haven PDX, an interdisciplinary art and wellness collective located at 2505 NE Pacific St, Portland, OR 97232

This community gathering invites people in recovery who are interested in, or currently integrating psychedelics into their healing practice. We will discuss how psychedelics impact addictive behaviors and risks of relapse.  We will explore relationships with altered states of consciousness, sobriety vs moderation, various recovery models, and systemic pressures leading to overconsumption and addictive tendencies.   The purpose of the gathering is to be in dialogue about these topics and how they impact our relationship to self, others, substances and altered states.

While we’re not requiring everyone to be sober or abstinent from all substances, we do ask that everyone attending the meeting not be engaging with whatever substance that triggers the addictive behavior.  Our intention for this monthly gathering is for everyone to have a confidential and safe space where people are able to self manage and discuss openly.  This group offers support for people who already have an active healing process around their addiction and are looking for a community to share it with and get support from.

This group is offered to the community in collaboration with Portland Psychedelic Society https://www.meetup.com/psychedelic/events/299239325/

RSVP to elizabeth@liberationinstitute.org

Facilitators:

Elizabeth Hoke is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California and Oregon who has over a decade of personal and professional experience with addiction recovery.  She is dedicated to helping people in need receive mental health services through Liberation Institute where therapy is provided for all on a sliding scale. Elizabeth also works with Dr. Rosonke at Rainfall Medicine, sitting with patients as they explore their relationship with addiction through the use of ketamine and psychotherapy. https://www.liberationinstitute.org/our-clinic/team/

Pryor Shade is a therapist trainee at Liberation Institute, veteran, educator, and artist who understands the struggles that we as humans can experience, trying to fit in, earn a living, access resources, develop relationships, and appreciate our own value as creative beings. Along the way he has learned a great deal about humility, about the need for curiosity and a desire to acquire new knowledge and skills. It’s not so much about having the right answer, but to help people share their story and feel heard, seen and valued. One of the greatest lessons he has acquired is to get out of his own way: to let go of his agenda, and be an active participant in the process. No matter what the task, a collaborative approach tends to be far better than a mission executed by an army of one.