My Approach

I trust that when you come to me for counseling you already have an inner wisdom that can guide you to know the best next step for you to take. My role is to help that knowing to come forth in a gentle and kind way that supports greater compassion for yourself and those around you.

Understanding that you have this wisdom, I seek to help you remove what gets in the way of you knowing yourself more deeply. These may be beliefs that you created as a child that no longer work for you; old or recent pain from unsatisfying relationships with family or friends; physical distress stored in your body from shock trauma or loss of a loved one. We work collaboratively to create enough safety and trust in our relationship so that approaching your pain is possible.

Our work together goes beyond you managing or coping with the pain. Curiosity and warmth replace fear and judgment as the main ways to enter your pain. Relief from the root cause of your pain then becomes possible so that you can come out of the other side of it so and live a life not based on old fears.

Underlying this approach is my strong conviction that what ultimately heals is the therapeutic relationship itself. My presence and not a specific technique form the ground of our work. Trained as a keen observer of what appears to be happening in you and as well as myself, I continually to seek to be in resonance with your thoughts, emotions and body. When I am out of synch with you I take steps to reconnect in an authentic and supportive manner. How well I am attuned to you ultimately determines the success of your counseling experience.

My own personal work supports my life as a therapist. I am a life-long learner and seek out professional training and consultation so that I can see my blind spots as well as my strengths. I realize that I can only support others to the degree that I have explored my inner world and live peacefully.

Each time you come to see me, I will ask what has your attention. I am much more interested in seeing what you have energy for rather than imposing my own agenda on what I think you should be addressing. That way, your trust of your own process grows. While you may learn many strategies to care for yourself in ways that bring you relief from pain and even joy, ultimately you will know how better to love.

My orientation to which strategies I incorporate in our sessions emphasizes body awareness. While other therapies may help you to better know what happened and why, you may continue to feel emotional and physical pain each time you encounter a situation that reminds you of the original wounding. If you want to finally say goodbye to the pain, I believe it is essential to bring awareness to your body. By attending to this channel of information, in addition to your emotions and thoughts, together we will discover how your body holds the pain and how it already knows how it wants to release it.
I often blend a number of modalities as we work together to create the results you desire. These include:

• Hakomi
• Psych-K™
• Internal Family Systems
• Solution Focused Therapy
• Contemplative Psychotherapy
• Somatic Experiencing© Talk Therapy
• Somatic Experiencing© Touch Therapy

My office is open Monday, Wednesday-Friday with evening hours on three nights. If you are an established client, phone and skype sessions are available.

If you are a mature teen, who has experienced a specific shock trauma, or an adult with concerns about relationships, loss or trauma, I invite you to call me for a free 30-minute consultation to address your concerns about therapy and my practice.