Meet Simone Nagle, LCSW

Hi there, I’m Simone and I am a licensed therapist providing thoughtful, goal-oriented mental health therapy in Portland, Oregon.

Therapy is a time to reflect, to be vulnerable, to experience emotional support, and to challenge yourself towards fulfillment. I feel honored to partner with you in this process - I truly value the therapeutic relationship as a safe space to grow, change, explore, and renew.

I work with adults, groups, and families facing depression, trauma and abuse histories, relationship and family conflict, life transitions, problematic substance use, and grief and loss. I work across the full range of adulthood, offering individual and family therapy grounded in a compassionate, trauma-informed, collaborative approach.

I provide therapy in a warm, inviting backyard home office. You’re welcome to come in-person for meetings or if it’s easier for you, we can meet virtually. Each session is 70 minutes and includes a blend of talk therapy and integration practices, like breathwork and light stretching, to increase the mind-body connection and provide you with a sense of calm connection before returning to your day.

A woman with long brown hair smiling against a yellow background, wearing a black floral blouse and gold earrings.

Simone Nagle, LCSW

Specialities

  • Whether you're navigating a new chapter, an unexpected change, or feeling uncertain about what's next, therapy can provide support and clarity. Together, we'll help you adjust, build resilience, and move forward with greater confidence.

  • Depression can make even everyday tasks feel overwhelming and leave you feeling disconnected from yourself and others. I offer a compassionate, supportive space to help you understand what you're experiencing, rediscover hope, and take meaningful steps towards connection.

  • Grief is a deeply personal experience with no right or wrong way to heal. There are many ways we experience grief and loss throughout our lifetimes. I offer a compassionate space to process your loss, honor your experience, and find a path forward at your own pace.

  • The effects of trauma can linger long after the experience itself, shaping how you see yourself and the world. Therapy can help you process what you've been through, reconnect with your strengths, and create a greater sense of safety and healing.

  • Whether you're questioning your relationship with substances, seeking recovery, or supporting lasting change, therapy offers a space without judgment. Together, we'll explore the underlying challenges, strengthen coping skills, and work toward the goals that matter most to you.

  • ADHD and learning differences can affect focus, organization, self-esteem, and daily life in ways that are often misunderstood. I provide a supportive, strengths-based approach to help you better understand how your mind works, develop practical strategies, and build confidence.

  • I work with creatives and professionals in the music industry in individual sessions and small-group formats. I help artists and crew manage mental health challenges while protecting access to complex emotions and their creative core, offering strategies to maintain sustainable creative practice, cope with industry stresses, and strengthen collaborative and interpersonal skills. I support balancing life between tours and projects and home life, helping clients create routines and boundaries that sustain both career and relationships.

    I am an approved therapist within the Backline Care, Inc network.

  • Losing someone to suicide can bring overwhelming grief, unanswered questions, and complex emotions. I provide a supportive, nonjudgmental space to help you process your loss and move toward healing with care and compassion.

Trainings

I believe it’s important for therapists to continue to learn and develop their expertise. Here are a few trainings I’ve been engaging in over the past year that I feel excited about incorporating into my practice.

  • Complex Trauma Certification Training

  • AEDP Immersion Training

  • Somatic & Polyvagal Addiction Treatment Certification

Music

Music is an important part of my life - for fun, for dancing, for relaxing - I love experiencing music as a way of connection. Here are a few albums I’ve had on repeat over the past year.

  • Goose Live at Madison Square Garden

  • Leisure Welcome to the Mood

  • Circles Around the Sun Interludes for the Dead Vol. 2

  • Fruition How to Make Mistakes

  • Chalk Dinosaur Potential Energy

Learning

I love to learn and find that books and podcasts are a great way to expand my skills as a therapist. Here are a few books and podcasts that have shaped my practice over the past year.

  • The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture by Gabor Maté

  • Playful: How Play Shifts Our Thinking, Inspires Connection, and Sparks Creativity by Cas Holman

  • Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention — and How to Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari

  • A Little Life by Hana Yanagihara

  • The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

  • Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

  • Hidden Brain podcast

  • Armchair Expert podcast

  • The Endless Honeymoon podcast

  • Where Should We Begin podcast

I believe that therapy is most effective when it is tailored to the unique needs of each person. Rather than relying on a single approach, I integrate several evidence-based and relationship-centered modalities to support healing, growth, and lasting change. My work draws from Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Relational Therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Self-Compassion practices, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Together, these approaches help us understand how past experiences shape the present, build practical coping skills, strengthen self-awareness, and create opportunities for deeper emotional healing.

At the heart of my work is the belief that healing happens within a safe, trusting therapeutic relationship. I strive to create a space where you feel understood, supported, and empowered to explore your experiences without judgment. Depending on your goals, we may work to identify and change unhelpful thought patterns through CBT, process trauma using EMDR, explore different parts of yourself with IFS, deepen emotional healing through AEDP, examine relationship patterns through a relational lens, or cultivate greater self-kindness through self-compassion practices. My goal is to help you not only reduce symptoms but also develop a stronger connection to yourself, your relationships, and the life you want to create.

Ready to Start Meeting?

Fill out this quick form and let’s connect in a no-cost consultation. These 30 minute, virtual consultations are a time to explore what you what brings you to therapy and to see how we would work together in therapy.