Approach
We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses. 
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My Approach
I, as your therapist, believe that for therapy to be successful an environment filled with respect, acceptance and allowance is called for. This in turn will allow your therapeutic experience to become a transformative one. Blending conventional and alternatives approaches, I draw on a variety of styles and techniques to incorporate what will be most helpful for you.
By creating a safe and supportive environment, I will help you identify what works for you and what does not. As old patterns fall away and unresolved feelings are expressed new growth appears. More effective and more constructive tools are learned, for as Psychologist Abraham Maslow well stated: ?When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.? As active collaborators, it is deeply rewarding to be a part of your process as you produce and build the great work of art which is your life.
My therapeutic approach encompasses my love of the creative process and the arts with a Jungian depth orientation. With sensitivity and compassion, I encourage clients to follow their own ?intuition,? and inner urgings. You will tend to what is organically calling for attention, as I carefully track and follow alongside. Stories are told and emotions are shared, moving with the innate rhythms and wisdom of your unconscious.
My experience has shown me that when I follow and respect your own internal flow, additional ways of seeing your self will emerge that support you moving forward in ways that seem highly creative and almost effortless. The unconscious is a lot smarter than the conscious mind, and like a waterfall allowed to flow along its natural course, it knows exactly where you need to go.
I also bring together the latest neurobiological research in cognitive - behavioral disciplines and focus on body/somatic models that enhance integrating more acceptance and tolerance of emotional content, as you reframe old stories and heal past trauma.
I use a dynamic approach, working with you in partnership, to bring integrity, congruence and resonance between body, mind and spiritual functioning. A resourceful mind is a healthy body and a sound body is a vibrant spirit. Let go old patterns, beliefs and behaviors that kept you drifting in the doldrums of life. In problematic situations, utilizing a psychological compass, I ask you to ask yourself and explore in depth how you are functioning in your life.
As a result, new directions appear, offering different options and fresh solutions. With new horizons accessible, you will chart a less restricted course secured by the inner reality of following your inner psychological compass. You stay on track and feel confident moving forward toward your goals.
Intellectual Knowing
"Speech is the mirror of the soul; as a man speaks, so he is." ~ Publilius Syrus
Intellectual Understanding of your situation is a necessary first directional step. What I say is, if you do not define yourself someone else will define you for you. Gaining insights provides you with a cognitive map. We will explore what mental models, automatic thoughts and belief systems define who you are. You will begin to discern and make sense of old behaviors, as you learn about yourself. Sessions are unique and a custom fit for what your needs are and what works for you.
Mapping out your journey may involve examining past relationships or revisiting old traumas. Finding new meaning in old stories will help you to navigate your way toward new behaviors. This all involves honest, caring, insightful and intuitive feedback and communication. There is an organicity that is implicit to feeling safe enough to dive in and explore, to go as deep or not - as you want to. There is no right or wrong way. There are many approaches we can take to meet your particular needs and requirements, it is my job to honor your way of discovery.
An educated intellectual understanding gives you the key, but it cannot entirely move you through your situation. It is in slowly opening to the deeper movements of the subconscious layers that form the core of the situation. When you begin addressing the emotional, physical and spiritual aspects that momentum begins to build, allowing for movement and change to occur naturally.
Emotional Knowing
?In listening to ourselves, we learn who we are, what our bodies know, the emotional wisdom of our cells. And slowly, if we honor what we hear, we begin to heal and to live fully.? ~ Miriam Greenspan
\In?ti*ma*cy\, n.; pl..
The state of being intimate; close familiarity or
association; nearness in friendship.
What is your blueprint for intimacy? What is your emotional compass? Another direction is what is your understanding of true intimacy. Intimacy begins with you, as in Into ? me ? see. Intimacy begins with your relationship with you. Becoming intimate translates as developing the wise understanding that if you lack awareness or lack the ability to express unacknowledged feelings, they will stress you out; if not today, then tomorrow or the next day.
What you do not express, will stress you out.
Finding creative ways to express these energies allows breathing room for you and for other. Developing this pause of space will allow more uplifting feelings to manifest. Becoming mindful, is defined as being intimate with, and learning to track my interior reality. Your inner self teaches you to trust more. Learning to safely express your feelings is essential to feeling more positive and merits a real sense of control. It is intrinsic to self worth and self trust. You can only trust others, as much as you trust yourself. Gaining this self mastery naturally evolves your communicating areas of conflict with others, because you trust yourself to not fall apart or act inappropriately. You will find yourself anchored to a firmer sense of higher self esteem.
The Dark Emotions are the ones that come with a bite, such as anger or a sting, such as fear or anxiety. Yet underneath anger is power, and when we can embrace our power then anger can be transmuted into service of love, it becomes a powerful motivating force for growth and healing. Anxiety can be paralyzing or it can be used to inform us about a powerful change we are getting ready to make for the future. Loss is a heavy weight we are often forced to carry, and also holds the seeds of renewal and a vital resurgence of wisdom. Withstanding these darker emotions and honoring all of your feelings allows them to be initiators and allies, finding new sources of strength and healing, as you navigate your way through the stormy times of life.
Physical (Somatic) Knowing
?Traumatized patients?are [repeatedly] continuing the action, or rather the attempt at action, which began when the thing happened, and they exhaust themselves in these everlasting recommencements.? ~ Pierre Janet
Physical understanding may include manifestation of dis-ease. Intense emotions, painful situations or memories that are not acknowledged or adequately dealt with on an emotional or verbal level can lead to difficulties in the emotional, mental, spiritual, or physical bodies and in the functioning of the organs. This can be worked with through art therapy and Sensorimotor psychotherapy; an approach that tracks physical sensations and focuses on body awareness.
Understanding that the body has its own innate wisdom and way of healing is vitally important. The body memory also holds onto traumatic experiences from our past. The instinctual arousal system is activated and what we could call ?bottom-up hijacking? takes over. This in turn leaves us at the mercy of the limbic system. The traumatized person feels out of control, unstable and psychologically incapable. Often ?talking? therapies are not enough because the body and emotions respond automatically and without ?reason? when old stuff is currently triggered. Thoughts or interpretation come later as the body and feelings attempt to make sense out of what happened.
Always with your permission, you will learn to track and monitor somactic/body indicators when they arise, this awareness provides a way to stay present with the symptoms rather than allowing the symptoms to take over and overwhelm us. It is within this ?gap? where healing can be most effective and profound.
Opening to what the symptoms are expressing can lead back to homeostasis as well as to greater states of being. Sometimes physical illness has a story to tell that is important for healing. The illness may be a result of bottled-up feelings that lacked an external outlet. Your body tells a story along with words and feelings. When we allow the body to lead, the results are often surprising and transcend cognitive knowing.
You can access and unfold the meaningful flow of life, which symptoms express. You can communicate with your symptoms and uncover the messages they have for you. In addition, working with your health challenges can be a potentially life-renewing, creative process.
Physical understanding may also include body energetics: the quality of your voice, how you hold your body, or how you dress or carry yourself. These may reflect some of the ways in which you keep tied to old patterns, beliefs and needs, and keep emotionally restricted. These issues are explored and addressed, according to the need of each client.
Spiritual Knowing
"I think we would be able to live in this work more peaceably if our spirituality were to come from looking not just into infinity but very closely at the world around us - and appreciating its depth and divinity." ~ Thomas Moore
Instead of being bogged down and identified with restrictive narratives that have become rigidified, imprisoning and calcified, we can re-imagine our past stories to creatively enlarge and expand the roles we play in them. We can connect with our more expansive and enlarged mythopoetic imagination to develop a new perspective and put your problems into context that transcends old viewpoints. As you circle the heart of what matters most to you the meaning you bring becomes the answers to your problems. It is as Dr. Jung surmised: ?The greatest and most important problems of life are all fundamentally insoluble. They can never be solved but only outgrown.? As seen within this context your problems become your spiritual quest.
Framed within a larger context, your life becomes a living work, an alchemical vessel if you will where even the most painful elements of your life has potential for transformation. I liken it to becoming an artist of life. This act is liberating when we can accept our pain as creative compounds. Shadowy, neglected parts of ourselves are welcomed back in, which in turn helps to broaden our perspectives, and create more options. It is all grist for the mill, everything and everyone can be used as a vehicle for awakening.
Active imagination is a tool that is used to fashion and forge your own spiritual connection. As you work on developing your own inner authority, a sense of empowerment is claimed. It will feel more natural to take ownership and be self-responsible for actions taken in life. Your life provides the material just right for your own healing process to unfold. You can re-story yourself.
Regardless of the situation we have been find ourselves in, we are here to learn and realize what our time here is be about. It?s not so much about the deck of cards you?ve been dealt, but how you work with the deck you?ve been given. It is about becoming an alchemist in your life, by turning what is painful into an opportunity for growth and enlightenment. As you move through your pain it becomes the golden ball that can lead you to new directions, understandings, talents, deeper levels of being, and new life.
My approach to psychotherapy allows you, the client, to get in touch with your own innate ability for self healing. You will gain more mastery by using your psychological compass to guide you. In problematic situations, I follow along and help direct you toward attaining a unified integrity of self. I ask you to continue to clarify and explore in depth how you are functioning in your life. As a result, new directions become evident and new solutions available. You will resolve current problems and dissolve long-standing patterns, powerfully reframing your life in ways that serve you now. I can help you explore and find their own solutions to a wide range of life challenges and psychological issues.