Ann Surber, LCSW

Psychotherapy in Portland, Oregon

About Me

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Illinois and Oregon. After earning a Master of Social Work degree from The University of Chicago, I completed advanced post-graduate training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy at the Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis and through the Depth Counseling fellowship program. What draws me to relational, psychoanalytic thinking is its appreciation of inner complexity, its recognition of what makes us human, and its emphasis on relationships as the heart of change.

I participate in ongoing consultation and learning opportunities through the Oregon Psychoanalytic Center and the Psychoanalytic Institute of Northern California. Before becoming a psychotherapist, I spent several years as a case manager and advocate for young people in the foster care and juvenile justice systems. I bring a sociological sensibility to my work, with attention to how social, cultural, economic, and political forces add texture to lived experience.

I believe some of the most meaningful learning happens through my work with clients and the relationships we build in therapy. I’m also interested in themes that emerge in everyday life and contemporary culture. I find that film, media, and storytelling can deeply resonate across personal and collective life and offer reflections of identity, struggle, and possibility.