Meet Kaitlyn Dove

Therapist For Moms, Dads & Couples
Based in Portland Metro Area, Virtual Across Oregon

MY STORY AS A THERAPIST

Hi, I’m Kaitlyn.

I’m an Oregon therapist and the founder of The Nurtured Theory.

Before becoming a mental health therapist, I spent more than a decade working with children, parents, families, and schools. I supported families through anxiety, emotional regulation, challenging behavior, parenting stress, relationship changes, and major life transitions.

Those years taught me that what happens inside one person rarely stays contained to that one person.

Stress follows parents home from work. Childhood experiences show up during bedtime battles. Anxiety affects the way a parent responds to their child. Resentment between partners can begin shaping every conversation about schedules, discipline, sleep, or what still needs to get done.

I also learned that many parents are struggling because they have been carrying too much, adapting to way more than they expected, and trying to hold their families together without anywhere to put their own experience.

That is why I created The Nurtured Theory.

A steady, reflective place where moms, dads, and couples can slow down, understand what has been happening beneath the stress, and begin finding a way forward that fits the family they actually have.

Let's connect!

You want a therapist who feels human, steady, and personal… not clinical or distant.

Someone who gets it the pressure, the expectations, the invisible emotional labor, the constant “I should be able to handle this” loop.

Someone who gets that you can be a deeply involved dad and still feel irritable, disconnected, or unsure of how to talk about the pressure you are under.

Someone who gets that parenting advice is not always helpful when what you really need is space to understand why certain moments affect you so deeply.

You’re in the right place.

Warm, but honest.

You will feel understood, but I will also help you notice the patterns that may be keeping you stuck.

Reflective, but practical.

We may explore your history, identity, relationships, and emotional patterns, while also talking about what is happening at home this week.

Collaborative, not prescriptive.

I do not believe there is one right way to parent, communicate, set boundaries, or build a family.

We will look at what matters to you and what actually works in your life.

Human, not distant.

You do not have to perform therapy correctly or arrive with perfectly organized thoughts. You can begin with what has been happening lately, even when you are not sure how to explain it.

What Working With Me Feels Like

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My Perspective

I believe parenthood can bring out parts of us we did not know were there.

It can deepen love while also exposing fear, resentment, grief, anger, and uncertainty.

It can change the way you see your partner, your parents, your body, your work, and the person you thought you would be.

You do not need another person telling you to be more grateful, more patient, more present, or better at self-care.

You may need someone who can sit beside you while you understand why this season feels so heavy and what you want to do differently.

That is the work we do here.

Who I Work With

I specialize in supporting parents and couples navigating:

  • Anxiety, spiraling thoughts, and emotional overload

  • Burnout, overstimulation, and chronic pressure

  • Identity changes after becoming a parent

  • Postpartum anxiety, depression, birth trauma, or disconnection

  • Anger, irritability, guilt, and losing patience

  • Relationship strain and feeling more like roommates

  • Parenting disagreements and different discipline styles

  • Challenging child behavior affecting the whole family

  • Mental load, resentment, and unequal responsibilities

  • Boundaries with parents, grandparents, or in-laws

  • Work and family pressure

  • Fatherhood identity and the pressure to hold everything together

  • Blended or repartnered family dynamics

  • Feeling disconnected from yourself, your partner, or your family

You do not need to know exactly which category your experience belongs in before reaching out.

Sometimes the most honest place to begin is simply:

“I do not feel like myself, and I need somewhere to talk about it.”

My work blends a trauma-informed, attachment-based, family-systems, and values-driven perspective.

I use a combination of:

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

  • IFS-informed parts work

  • DBT skills

  • Nervous system regulation

  • Values-based goal setting

  • Insight-oriented reflection

  • Parenting and child-development knowledge

  • Relationship and family-systems work

  • Emotion-focused and relational principles

Some sessions may focus on your anxiety or identity. Others may involve your relationship, your childhood, a postpartum experience, your child’s behavior, or a difficult conversation that happened at home.

We move at your pace and continue shaping the work around what feels most meaningful and helpful.

My Approach

    • Oregon Professional Counselor Associate

    • Oregon Licensed School Counselor

    • George Fox University MA in School Counseling

    • Portland State University BS in Child and Family Studies