Areas of Specialization

About Kathy

I am a native Oregonian, born and raised in Portland, OR. I attended Gresham High School and graduated in 1974. I have two grown children, four granddaughters, and currently live in Lake Oswego, OR. I enjoy being a therapist, teaching, gardening, reading, hiking, cooking, shopping at thrift stores, biographies, staying fit, home improvement, and spending time with family and friends.

In 1994, I graduated from Portland State University with a Bachelor of Science degree, which included a double major in psychology and social science. I then graduated in 1995 with my M.Ed from the Graduate School of Education at PSU, earned my State of Oregon Standard teaching license with elementary, special education, and reading endorsements and was an educator for ten years. Six of those years were spent teaching special education, students identified as emotionally disturbed, and struggling readers. I have kept my teaching license current (State of OR Standard Teaching License with elementary, special education, and reading endorsements). In addition, I have a State of WA Continuing teaching license with early childhood education, elementary education, special education and psychology endorsements. I went on to complete the Graduate Reading Program in 2007, a Masters degree in Curriculum and Instruction in 2012, and the Graduate Addiction Certificate program at PSU in 2013. I am currently a Certified Coach in Self-Esteem Elevation for Children and Adults.


As a Marriage and Family Therapist, I specialize in the following areas:

  • Family Relationships
  • Blended Families
  • Couple and Family Therapy
  • Children and Adolescents
  • Self Esteem     
  • Self Understanding
  • Personal Growth
  • Early Attachment
  • Trauma
  • Play Therapy
  • Parenting
  • Relationship Coaching
  • Communication Skills
  • Spiritual Connection
  • Achieving Life Balance
  • Addiction In The Family
  • The Psychosocial Impact of Disabilities
  • Organization & Productivity
  • Professional Development
  • Transition through Divorce
  • Stages of Change
  • Couple and Family Therapy: I use a technique called Emotionally Focused  Therapy that is targeted to help couples and families heal from the conflict, improve their bond and resolve the core of their distress. Emotion Focused Therapy for couples and families is a method of therapy designed to help couples and families embrace their emotions--negative emotions included--and constructively share those feelings with each other to heal their relationship. EFT is an intervention designed to reduce distress and create stronger, more secure attachment bonds in families as well as adult love relationships.
  • Building Self Esteem:  You have a right to feel good about yourself!  The way you perceive yourself is the foundation for 'how you function in your world', However, your 'shame core' keeps you 'stuck'.  It is very difficult to feel good about yourself when you are under stress, unable to achieve your goals, or when others treat you badly.  As you work on building your self-esteem you will notice that you feel less shame, that you are enjoying your life more than you did before, and that you are doing more of the things you have always wanted to do. Your level of  insight and self understanding will deepen in order to develop your true potential.
  • Facilitating Self Understanding:  There is no greater joy than working with someone as they have that “Aha” moment.  Understanding what makes you tick lays the groundwork to help you make the right decisions for your life. Self understanding, insight, and developing your true potential is the key to finding and creating the relationships you want. This will lead to self respect  as well as respect for others.  A lack of self-respect can prevent you from fulfilling your potential and from developing healthy relationships that don't become power struggles.  In order to understand someone else, you must have an understanding of yourself and what your needs are. The facilitation of self understanding is the path that leads to you to developing your full potential.
  • Problematic Communication Patterns: The couples and families I work with range from new partners learning about each others strengths and vulnerabilities to couples and families who are experiencing life transitions. I also work with couples who want to regain lost sexual and emotional connection. Finally, if a couple seeks to move towards divorce, I help them leave the relationship using strategies that promote emotional health and healing.
  • Readiness for Change: Rather than asking, “Why aren't you motivated?”, as a therapist, I ask, “For what are you motivated?” Instead of focusing on why you don't want to make a particular change, I facilitate exploring what you do want in order to provide a context for change as well as the exploration of obstacles that are preventing you from reaching your goals and true potential. There are often multiple ways to approach a desirable goal; given a choice of strategies to try, you may find one that is acceptable as a starting point.
  • Parenting/Families in Transition/Blending Families: The transition into a blended family is rarely a smooth process. Some children may resist changes, while parents can become frustrated when the new family doesn't function like their previous family. While changes to family structure require adjustment time for everyone involved, sometimes four to seven years, blended families can work out their growing pains and live together successfully.
  • Children and Adolescents:  Drawing on my 10 years as a special educator at the elementary and middle school levels, I am familiar with the broad range of emotional and behavioral challenges parents often face. Using a structural family systems approach, I work directly with the parents, children, and the overall dynamic within the family system.  Coupled with my own experience raising a daughter and a son, my professional background and expertise encompasses life transitions that families often face , such as understanding the challenges of step-family and extended family issues
  • Addiction in the Family: I can provide informal assessment for drug and alcohol use and make recommendations for treatment. In addition to chemical dependency, I work with co-dependent family members. For example, a mother who has difficulties maintaining a sense of self separate identity from the addict. In addition, I provide support to those in recovery as well as family members.
  • The Psychosocial Impact of Hidden Disabilities:  Often, when  individuals have a 'hidden' disability (e.g. ADHD, ADD, sleep disorders, PTSD, learning disabilities etc.) that cannot been 'seen', others often make unfair assumptions and become judgmental, which can create a high level of shame.  This can be a huge obstacle to developing your true potential. 

    I work with a diverse clientele and offer an approach that best suits the individual client(s). In a setting that embraces each client's individuality,  I facilitate clients in identifying what is keeping them from achieving their goals.
    I am particularly interested in working with individuals, couples, and families who struggle with the impact of trauma in relationships. I believe that it is early attachment and family of origin that lays the foundation for how well individuals are able to navigate their lives. I believe that families are systemic and that within the main family system are 'sub-systems'. I take a 'structural family systems' approach in working with clients in order to help identify what might be keeping them 'stuck', thus, preventing them from functioning at an optimal level. I believe that all individuals have a desire to reach their potential and that often, it is the limitation of  self understanding, oftentimes rooted in their family of origin, that present obstacles in reaching their goals and developing their true potential.

    My goal as a marriage and family therapist is to facilitate healing family wounds and relationships, creating emotional connection, increase in self esteem, self understanding, spiritual connection, and the process of reaching one's full potential.     I offer sessions, both in-person and on the phone. We will start with an initial assessment to clearly define your short and long term goals, everything from communication skills to personal acceptance. We will use these goals as a foundation to create a strategy for attaining these objectives.  My office hours are from 1:00-9:00 pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday in Tigard, and from 1:00-8:00 on Thursdays in Forest Grove.

                   Kathy Hardie-Williams, M.Ed, MS, NCC, MFT
                        9600 SW Oak St. #280; M/W/F 1:00-9:00 PM
                                               Tigard, OR  97223
                          4110 Pacific Ave. #102; Thurs 1:00-8:00 PM
                                             Forest Grove, OR 97116
                                                   503.601.5428
                              kathy@westsidefamilytherapy.org
                                      westsidefamilytherapy.org