David Lechnyr, LCSW

Welcome to my practice!
I specialize in treating depression, anxiety, and relationship issues for individuals using Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and marital therapy using Gottman Method Couples Therapy.

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My goal is to help people looking connect with what they have lost in both life and in themselves. I feel very strongly that we can let what happens in our lives make us angry, resentful and afraid, or we can embrace these events as a way to grow stronger, yet softer, and end up being more open to where we need to be in life.

This process of personal recovery is amazing to witness and I am always impressed by the motivation of my patients towards change. I come from a multi-generational family of therapists and psychologists. I have grown up in this environment all my life and “breathed the air” of psychology, so to speak. This experience has taught me that the hardest part of change for anyone is in getting to know yourself and to face the areas where we feel stuck at in life. If I can help during this process, I would be glad to assist you.

About David

David is a individual and couples therapist with over 25 years of experience.

Insurance & Fees

Many insurance plans are covered, including Cigna, Moda, Providence and PacificSource.

Online Scheduling

Easy of scheduling your appointments and the ability to fill out forms electronically

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Frequently Asked Questions

Are you accepting new patients? Yes. I am currently accepting new patients, ages 18 and up. I provider both in-person appointments at my office in Eugene, as well as online/video therapy.

Do you take insurance? I can bill several insurance panels, as well as being able to accept health-savings/flexible spending accounts (HSA/FSA). I also offer the option for private pay, which has the added benefit of increased privacy and confidentiality.

How many sessions will I need? I generally schedule appointments once every 1-2 weeks, depending on your needs and goals. As you progress in therapy, we can start slowly decreasing the time between our sessions. It’s important to remember that therapy is never a “quick fix”. It requires commitment towards personal growth and change. That being said, most people benefit from having at least 6-10 sessions.

What is the first appointment like? After reviewing your initial paperwork, we’ll spend time talking about what issues you’re facing, what sort of struggles you’ve had to deal with, and what you’re hoping to get out of therapy. This also allows you to get to know me and my style, as it’s important that we both feel that we are a good fit in order for you to benefit from counseling.

I can only see you on Thursday evenings, I might need to cancel frequently, and I’ll need to bring my cat… My, that’s a lot of conditions (Yes, I actually got this question once). This generally isn’t a good sign, so we should talk further. My experience over the past 23 years has been that the more conditions we place on ourselves, the less likely it is that therapy will be very helpful or effective.

Dogs, Anxiety and Learned Helplessness

David Lechnyr, LCSW

Learned helplessness is the basis for understanding the root causes of depression and panic anxiety. Early researchers discovered that when dogs were given electrical shocks that they could not control, they later showed signs of anxiety and depression. If the experiment went on for too long, the dogs didn’t even try to escape the shocks and instead just collapsed in a corner of their cage. If a "safe area" was made in the cage where the dogs could go to in order to not receive any shocks, they would act helpless and not move. If they were picked up and forcibly...

What Makes a Relationship Last?

David Lechnyr, LCSW

Psychologists have studied couples for years in order to find out what makes for a lasting relationship. However, predicting what is going to work “before” the marriage is more difficult. Ted Huston, Ph.D. found that marriages fall into four distinct groups: Married and happy; married and unhappy; divorced early, within seven years, or divorced later, after seven years. Ultimately, the distinguishing factor between those who divorced and those who remained married was noted in the amount of change in the fist two years of the marriage. Happily Married These people were as happy and “in love” as newlyweds. They had less mixed feelings,...

How to Solve Problems Together

David Lechnyr, LCSW

Healthy families, and couples, know that everyone, and every family, has problems. We want to live in a society that tries to force us to believe that only bad people have problems. The reality is that we all have issues that we have to deal with and solve if we are to be functional and healthy. When one member of the family has a problem, it is critical to know that it is something that affects the entire family. If you really want to solve things it is going to take a joint effort by everyone concerned to resolve things. Here...

Developing a Marital Business Plan

David Lechnyr, LCSW

Marriage is when two people come together because of a mutual attraction and desire to spend their lives together. The problem is that situation is not always as easy as it is portrayed on TV and in romance novels. The marital relationship is much more difficult than we can ever imagine for a number of reasons. It is helpful many times to helps “reframe” some of the ideas about marriage if we are to make it work. Physical Attraction When we first meet someone, we find that we have a physical attraction to that person which “pulls us” toward them. We...

The Double-Edge Sword of Anxiety and Panic

David Lechnyr, LCSW

It can be very difficult to control one's anxiety. Often, this comes from two surprisingly positive aspects of personality: Intuitive awareness, and Vivid creativity. Intuitive Awareness Anxious people tend to possess a "special intuitive awareness" of the world around them. It is an ability to sense what others may be feeling, even without words. Often there is a concern for not wanting to offend others, holding in feelings, and an awareness of what is going on at "multiple levels of consciousness." Anxious people tend to believe that they are "over-reacting" to what they sense from others. As a result, there is a further incentive...

Challenging Negative Self-Talk

David Lechnyr, LCSW

Negative dialogue is one of the most important aspects of chronic anxiety, pain, along with stopping one’s progress in overcoming any problems. What we say to ourselves when we face the day, problems and difficulties, can cause us to feel depressed, anxious, or happy. One of the reasons we stay in a "bad state" is because of the way we talk to ourselves. Examples of Negative Self-Talk Sometimes, we mistake negative self talk as fact. Some examples of this elusive mindset include: "My life sucks, I hate it!" "I'm nothing but a screw-up." "What's wrong with me?" "Why can't I be...

Physical Causes of Anxiety and Panic

David Lechnyr, LCSW

Knowing the underlying causes of anxiety and panic allow you a way of understanding what you are doing that makes your symptoms worse. We do know that anxiety attacks, or panic, can easily be “set” in humans even after just one experience of being overwhelmed. This one time can set a “habit” and now can become automatic and your body can respond this way on a regular basis. Some people have “Anxiety Sensitivity” which suggests that some people are more prone to anxiety and panic attacks because of fact that they are just more “sensitive” types of people. Being “sensitive” can be...

Controlling Your Next Panic Attack

David Lechnyr, LCSW

Steps to control panic attacks are ironic. On the one hand, they are simple and straightforward. On the other hand, they are the most difficult to follow through with. Here are some of the most critical steps in controlling your next panic attack. First, admit that you are feeling anxious. Accept your body feelings as symptoms of your anxiety and a sign that something is bothering you. Try to figure out what is really bothering you. Is it some type of conflict that you don't want to deal with? Is it a scary thought? Is it a ridiculous expectation you have...

How Do I Change?

David Lechnyr, LCSW

In order to change from old habits of codependent behavior, you will need to abide by the Three Meta-Rules of Change. These rules are the "rules about rules" that should govern any approach towards dealing with codependency and maximizing your impact on self-change. These rules allow you to gain self-respect, which is a way of being true to yourself. It allows you to focus on where you want to be at, and what changes you want to make, in life. 1. Respect Others The ability to accept diversity of opinion and feelings. Understand how your behaviors affects others. Know that there is...

How Do I Become Less Codependent?

David Lechnyr, LCSW

If you want to change, you have to commit yourself to a personal changing plan. If you find things that get in your way ("blocks"), you have to do anything to understand why the blocks keep happening. However, you must look inside of yourself, not others, to find the answer. The following "laws of change" are designed to help you slowly grow out of codependent thinking patterns. They will allow you to enjoy life and "start living in the real world." 1. The Law of Personal Responsibility Stop looking to others for help, blaming them for problems, and look to yourself...