Joy Nussen

Joy Nussen is a licensed marriage and family therapist who practices in both California and Oregon and brings 32 years of clinical experience across a wide range of settings and populations. She works primarily with adult men and women from diverse ethnic backgrounds and supports people who are beginning or continuing a healing journey after struggles such as depression, anxiety, relationship conflict, addictions, and trauma - including multi-generational trauma.

Her clinical work addresses many common life challenges, including stress, anxiety, relationship issues, trauma and abuse, grief, depression, addictions, family conflicts, anger management, self-esteem concerns, career difficulties, bipolar disorder, coping with life changes, and compassion fatigue. Joy has found through years of practice and telehealth work that, regardless of background or personal story, people commonly seek purpose, meaning, and a sense of value in their lives.

Joy’s therapeutic style is warm and actively engaging; she listens closely to language, enjoys metaphors, and uses humor when it fits the moment. Her clinical approach draws from multiple methods, including solution-focused techniques, dialectical behavior strategies, narrative work, and experiential therapies, blending these orientations to fit each person’s needs.

She also developed Joy’s CHIPS Model© as a way to think about “chipping away at human problems.” The model examines cognitive distortions and personal narratives, communication patterns such as listening versus hearing and behaviors like stonewalling or ghosting, the hazards of comparisons, and the role of compassion toward self and others including regret and resentments. It considers context - environment, culture, religion, and health - and issues of control, such as anxiety, panic, codependency, and addictions. The model includes practical elements like healthy distractions and skills, honesty and transparency, humility and gratitude, and questions of self-focus, interpretation, and emotional maturity. Additional areas addressed are patience, mindful attention, fear of feeling better, physical health factors, projection and forecasting, testing assumptions, purpose, self-awareness, self-sabotage, substance concerns, and the support system.

Joy welcomes opportunities to work with adults who are ready to explore these areas and looks forward to meeting new clients to support their healing and growth. “Don’t cling to a mistake just because you spent a lot of time making it.” - Aubrey de Grey. “The only way to live a life without regret is to pay attention.” - Sam Harris.