I am because we are
Ubuntu Counseling is my practice. It is one room on the third floor of a Broadway building in downtown Eugene, with books, games and natural light, and children, teens, adults, couples and families all use the same space.
The name came from Alaska. I was working with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities at Hope Community Resources when visiting speakers from Africa talked about Ubuntu: we are interconnected, I am because we are. It landed because some of my closest friends were people with disabilities, family I was not born into. Nobody figures life out entirely alone.
That is the whole idea behind the room. You can come as you are. No changes needed.
Just me, Heather Swaney, MA, LPC. Thirty years across schools, child welfare, residential care and disability advocacy sit behind the work: behavioral interventionist, child protection social worker, school counselor, foster parent, and therapist on a locked adolescent residential unit. I have advocated for autistic people in education, independent living and vocational settings, often in rooms where nobody else was speaking up.
Autism and ADHD support across the whole lifespan, trauma and PTSD, anxiety, grief and loss, life transitions, couples and family work, and LGBTQIA+ affirming therapy at any age. I also provide consultation to parents, schools and agencies, and I write documentation for education, housing, employment or accommodation where it is clinically appropriate.
Sessions are in person in Eugene or by telehealth anywhere in Oregon. I keep Wednesday through Friday hours and Saturday appointments, which for a lot of families is the only slot that does not cost a missed class or a used-up sick day.
Ubuntu Counseling is private pay. I do not bill insurance and I do not accept the Oregon Health Plan. I provide superbills you can submit for out-of-network reimbursement, though whether a plan reimburses is between you and your insurer. Individual sessions are $180, couples and family sessions are $250, consultation and letters are $180, and there are a limited number of reduced-fee spots starting at $130.
Paying privately also means no diagnosis is required for billing and no session limit is set by a plan.
The first conversation is a free 30-minute call. You say roughly what is going on, I say honestly whether I am the right person for it, and nothing is owed either way. If I am not the right fit, I will say so and try to point you somewhere better.
Services, events, and resources from our practice.
In-depth pages written by our team members.
Neurodivergent-affirming therapy for autistic and ADHD children, teens, adults and seniors in Eugene and across Oregon by telehealth. Thirty years of disability advocacy behind the room.
by Heather Swaney
Play-based work with children from age four, therapy for teenagers on their own terms, and parent sessions with or without the child in the room. Eugene and telehealth across Oregon.
by Heather Swaney
Ubuntu Counseling and Heather are an absolute treasure. I was lucky enough to have coffee with Heather, and as a colleague, am astounded by her humility and unique/creative approach to therapy.
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Oregon leads the nation in access to psychedelic-assisted and integrative mental health therapies.
