Wholistic (adjective): In your wisest and your most confused, be kind towards yourself. |
We all experience pain and suffering. We also all contain everything we need to heal. My role as a psychotherapist is to offer the proper nourishment and support to help you grow and uncover your own inherent wisdom, wholeness, and aliveness. I bring a lens of curiosity, gentleness, compassion, nonjudgement, honesty, and humor. I understand that all of you, including all the ways that you have learned how to cope, have been brilliant strategies that have allowed you to survive. Even if they are no longer working for you now, it is important to acknowledge how they have gotten you this far. Now, we can work together to help you develop new, more effective ways of coping and thriving.
I approach this work as a guide, offering my expertise and skills as a fellow traveler on the path of healing. I believe that you are the ultimate expert on your unique self. Knowing this, I will work closely with you in a co-creative process to learn about what works best for you. Because you are uniquely you, I tailor sessions based on your individual needs and goals. To learn about my specialties, read here. I offer a somatic approach to psychotherapy. Soma is a word of Greek origin that simply means body. A somatic approach to psychotherapy incorporates the intelligence of the body. The body holds much of the emotional patterns and memories that we have. When we tap into the intelligence of the body, we are able to access, release, and/or integrate our emotions and memories in new ways. I work mindfully. Mindfulness simply means giving attention to what is happening in the present moment. Mindfulness gives you skills to work with your thoughts and perceptions. Mindfulness research has shown that this practice creates physical changes in the brain, allowing you to cultivate more choice and freedom in your life. I work relationally. This means that we cultivate a real relationship, human-to-human. This is a great opportunity to work through the places where you might get stuck in the relationships you develop in your personal life. I work wholistically. This means that I see you as a whole person with many facets. I continue to hold you as a whole, wise, beautiful human being, even when you are deeply struggling. I incorporate a body-mind-emotion-spirit approach, meaning that I help you to explore each of these levels of being to see where your symptoms might be starting and how to attend to them in a way that gets to the root of your suffering. I help people cultivate self-love and deepen their relationship to themselves. I help you get to know yourself better, and to bring love and compassion to what you see. The paradox of change is that when we love and accept what already is, we open the door to change. I offer a trauma-informed perspective. I work with trauma using EMDR, an evidence-based trauma resolution therapy. Evidence-based means that this modality has been studied numerous times and proven to be highly effective in reducing symptoms and resolving trauma. Sometimes the memories, emotions, and thoughts associated with a traumatic event get "stuck" in our bodies, not allowing us to move on. It is like a bunch of papers strewn on a desk, without having made sense of them. EMDR helps to file away the papers in their right place, so that you can feel better and cultivate a life that you want. In this process, I will do my best to find that sweet spot where you are being challenged, but still feel safe. We will work together to make sure that this process does not overwhelm you. I empower you to become your own healer. You will learn tools and skills to take outside of the therapy room and into your everyday life. I can offer skills and tools relating to the body, emotions, the mind, and spirit. These skills empower you in your journey as you create a thriving support system within and around you. You can cultivate resilience and adaptability which allow you to live a more fulfilling life. |