Ava is a Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Hakomi Therapist, and the Founder of MCD Therapy

I affirm and welcome all relationship structures, LGBTQIA+ individuals, body diversity, and a sex-positive approach to human connection. My work is rooted in respect, inclusivity, and the belief that every person deserves a safe place to be fully seen.

Formal Education and Training:  

  • Masters Degree in Clinical Mental Health

  • Certified Hakomi Therapist

  • PACT Level 1 Therapist (Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy)

  • The Re-Creation of the Self, a model of human systems as taught by Jon Eisman

  • Trauma training with Manuaela Mischke-Reeds

  • M.E.T.A.'s Primary Attachment Therapy & Attachment in Couples Therapy Training

  • Extensive training in Nonviolent Communication (NVC). Co-facilitated NVC classes as a volunteer in the Oregon State Penitentiary, facilitated NVC reconciliation processes, and co-led an NVC process groups

  • Deconstructing Mental Health Systems trainings

Meet J.Ava Frank

Licensed Professional Counselor, Certified Hakomi Therapist, and the Founder of Mindful Compassionate Dialogue Therapy (MCDT).

My Story: When I told my grandmother I would be enrolling in an Aviation Science program for my bachelor’s degree, she suggested I might one day become a family therapist instead. It would be fourteen years before her words made sense to me. The wisdom of her years and her ability to see the truth of me beyond my story has become a legacy I strive to embody.

In my mid-20s, I committed myself to the most challenging and rewarding adventure of my life: learning how to let down my guard, become vulnerable, and live in deeper alignment with my authentic self. I found transformation through Hakomi, Nonviolent Communication practices, healing ceremonies, dancing, and beloved community. I began teaching Nonviolent Communication in the Oregon State Penitentiary, and that experience clarified that my life’s work belongs in the healing arts. In 2008, I left my career in aviation to pursue clinical mental health counseling.

Through years of clinical practice and advanced training, I began to notice a pattern that called for a new framework. Couples longed to communicate with greater ease and care, yet often felt disheartened when they couldn’t live up to their own values. They were hard on themselves for struggling, even when their intentions were sincere.

I could see what was possible in relationships when skill and open presence came together, and I had the privilege of witnessing couples find their way there. My dear friend and colleague Elia Paz and I shared a vision for a path to support our clients. In 2020, she invited me to begin teaching therapists what we had each been cultivating in our respective work. Elia created the foundational map of Mindful Compassionate Dialogue. I developed it into a structured therapeutic model for clinical practice.

Mindful Compassionate Dialogue Therapy (MCDT) emerged from that vision. MCDT has been both an offering and a homecoming, a wellspring of inspiration that reflects my faith in the vast potential of human beings to heal, grow, and live in conscious, compassionate relationship with themselves, each other, and the living world.

These days, I live a simple life in Southeast Portland with my wife and our dog. I find joy in skating, dancing, creating, and playing in many forms. Connection, learning, and love are at the heart of it all.

Living is the healing.

Let’s not get caught in the trance that we always have to be doing work. Sometimes the healing comes from dancing with friends, following the small still voice in the heart, doing what feels right/aligned/true/embodied/in flow.

We aren’t meant to do this on our own.

I have great hope that we are all building and tending to community that unites in a spirit of generosity. That you can depend on others, and they can depend on you. We can create this now—no need to wait for the perfect circumstances!

Need hope? Sometimes we need support to Rise Up!

For when it’s all feeling like too much and we need a reminder to rise up again. Let Andra help remind/inspire you.

Nervous System Wind-Down.

Allow the vibration and words to anchor you into your present moment safety.

(If not in a safe place, get to one first, then listen.)