Therapy

“Some of the most beautiful people I have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggles, known loss, and have found their way out of these depth.”     -Elizabeth Kubler Ross

A PROCESS OF DISCOVERY AND GROWTH

Individual psychotherapy is a process of discovery and growth.  It is a time where you enter into a private space set aside just for you. A space where you can show up just as you are:  bringing your sorrows and hopes, your wounds and strengths, your failings and talents, your brokenness and beauty.

It is a space where you can find your way through whatever has blocked you from living the life you long for. And find your way back to connection with your core essence which is untouched and whole no matter what you have suffered.

A SHARED JOURNEY

This is a journey we will share together.  I will provide a safe holding space for you to explore and discovery We will take our time in building a trusting relationship.   I will let you set the pace.

TAILORMADE FOR YOU

We will create together a unique therapy tailor made just for you.  I will attune and listen deeply to your words and underneath your words.  When words fail you can express yourself through art, sand play, or movement.  We will listen to the wisdom of your dreams and pay attention to where intense feeling or memories of trauma are storied in your body.

If you become overwhelmed by your feelings, we will stop and I will help you soothe yourself and become grounded in the present moment.

We will explore the habits and beliefs you developed to cope with difficult things.  Habits and beliefs that served you well then but trip you up. now.  We will gently work to unravel them so that you can have the freedom to live boldly and free.

A VITAL LIFE IS POSSIBLE

Right now you might be feeling the lost and meaninglessness of depression, the exhausting panic of anxiety, the intrusion of memories of adversity and challenge,  the struggles of relationships.

But no matter where you are I can help you find your way out of those depth to a vital full life.

ATTENDING TO YOUR LIFE

The process of therapy is all about attending to your life.

Each person’s therapy journey is unique.

There’s no one way to describe it. But image, metaphor and poetry can shed light as we process through the difficulties, stuckness, and pain to transformation.

Psyche

Psyche is the Greek word for soul. So psychology can be seen as the study of the soul or of a person’s deep thoughts and feeling.

The image of a butterfly has often been used to depict the soul. The life cycle of a butterfly is a beautiful description of the transformation that can happen in psychotherapy.

First comes the hungry caterpillar, next the chrysalis where it looks like life has stopped, finally one day a beautiful butterfly emerges.

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
― Maya Angelou

Labyrinth

A labyrinth is a circular form that has only one circuitous path that leads from the outer edge to the center. There are no tricks to it and no dead ends. Circuitous means that as you walk you come very close to the center but then the path curves outward and you temporarily walk away from the center. It can seem like you will never arrive. And yet, just like in therapy, the very act of walking the circuitous path allows you the space and time to discover what you know and how you want to live.

This reminds me of the words of the poet T.S. Elliot.

We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. T. S. Eliot

Often it is a relief to have made that call and started psychotherapy. As you begin to work more deeply there are often uncomfortable or even painful places to explore.

And then life breaks free as you resolve the challenges that initially brought you to therapy.

Give me a call for a free 20-minute phone consultation so that you can begin your journey of transformation.

510-644-4227