Meet Caryn Zaner, PsyD

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Clinical Psychologist in Oregon offering virtual Group Therapy and Therapy Intensives for adults across Oregon navigating identity, disconnection, and meaning-making.

About My Work

I work with adults across Oregon who feel out of sync—with themselves, others, or the world around them. For many, traditional therapy has felt too isolating, too slow, or too focused on fixing rather than connecting.

That’s why I focus on virtual group therapy and therapy intensives: spaces that support real-time processing, relational healing, and deep exploration beyond the limitations of solo talk therapy.

Clients often come to me wanting:

  • To feel more aligned with their values

  • To build deeper, more honest relationships

  • To move through numbness, disconnection, or shame

  • To be seen for who they are, not just what they’ve been through

This is a space where you can drop the performance, let go of “having it all figured out,” and show up as your full, imperfect self.

My Approach to Therapy

At the core of my work is a values-based approach: I help you get clear on what matters most and support you in building a life that reflects those values—even in the midst of grief, fear, and complexity.

I bring together:

  • Existential-Humanistic and Relational Therapy — deep work grounded in presence, meaning, and connection

  • Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) — especially useful in exploring attachment and relational dynamics

  • DBT Foundations — practical tools for distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and boundary-setting

Whether you’re in a group or intensive, I create spaces where vulnerability is honored, conflict is explored (not avoided), and change happens through relationship—not in isolation.

Clients have described me as compassionate, straightforward, playful, and real. I’m not afraid to name the patterns that might be holding you back, and I won’t ask you to perform wellness. We’ll do this work honestly, together.

Outside of Therapy

Therapists are often trained to stay neutral or anonymous, but I think that can feel alienating. You don’t need me to be a blank slate. You need me to be real, grounded, and someone who shows up with you. So here’s a bit about who I am:

I’m a white, Jewish, queer, agender, disabled Millennial and child of Boomer parents. A former East Coaster, I’m now based in Eugene, Oregon after over a decade in Portland.

Outside of sessions, you’ll find me rewatching LOST, lifting weights, photographing wildflowers I’ll forget to look at again, and enjoying horror movies. I’m committed to mutual aid, community care, and a future without prisons or borders.

My own story includes the tension of navigating both privileged and less-privileged identities,rejecting roles that no longer fit, and learning how to live with meaning even while the world feels like it’s burning.

If you’re overwhelmed by your to-do list and the weight of the world, I get it. We can hold both.

Ready to take the next step?

Let’s talk. I offer a free 20–30 minute consultation to answer questions and explore whether we’re a good fit.

Relevant Trainings and Work

  • Co-Facilitator, 2SLGBTQIA+ Providers’ Affinity Group — AGPA Connect: The Many Faces of Group (2025)

  • Podcast Guest, A Friend for the Long Haul Podcast: “Too Flared to Funk,” “Seasons Grievings and Chronic Feelings,” (2024)

  • Working with Trans Clients in the Gender Affirmative Clinical Model: An Advanced Clinical Training (2020)

Credentials & Training

Licensure

  • Licensed Psychologist (Oregon #3466)

  • PsyD in Clinical Psychology from Pacific University (2020)

  • Welcoming Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Workshop - National Coalition Building Institute (NCBI) (2019).

    • Facilitator of Training: “10 Principles of Welcoming Diversity.”

  • Doctoral Research: The intersections of sexual identity, community, and age: Exploring how queer women navigate physical and online spaces.