There are many approaches to counseling and therapy. One thing that all research and conventional wisdom point toward is the relationship between the individual and the therapist. Healing always starts in relationship and my first goal is to really get to know you. I don't come into a session with preconceived notions about you or your situation. I found that everyone and every situation is unique. The starting point is to provide an atmosphere that feels safe and where you feel heard and understood.
How people heal has been part of the evolution of psychology and neuroscience for decades. The amazing fact is that neuroimaging actually shows physical changes in the brain after "talk therapy" that is equal or greater than the changes that can occur from taking medication. I think it is vital that people understand that therapy is not simply sharing your pain but it can be transformative. Psychologists and therapists throughout history have explored the power of a healing relationship.
I am not a therapist who will simply listen and say nothing. My goal will be to understand you, put myself in your shoes as best I can and use my training and experience to help walk with you down the road that will bring the most change and healing to your life. Soren Kierkegaard said that the will to be ourselves is our highest calling. One of the fathers of Object Relations theory in therapy referred to people living out of their false selves. Sullivan the founder of Interpersonal therapy talked about the process of losing parts of ourselves and Perls, founder of Gestalt therapy, talked of therapy as reclaiming the squandered bits of ourselves. I mention a few of the giants in the field to point out some similarities in theory, that often our struggles result from lost parts of ourselves. In some ways we need to find ourselves again, to become the people we were meant to be.
Over the course of two decades, I have been trained and supervised in a variety of therapeutic modalities. As I've worked with clients over that time, I was never simply content with the results. As new research emerged in the area of neuroscience and trauma, I delved into it. My practice evolved as I listened to my clients and monitored what was effective and what was not. I found that most people were trying as hard as they were able and that simply talking about their issues, challeging their thoughts and behaviors, providing skills, getting them in touch with their emotions, helping them gain insight into their present and their past, providing homework and alternative choices were not really enough. All of those things represent the bedrock of different popular modalies and they were helpful but didn't seem to provide the life-changing effects that I believed in when I entered this practice.
Innovators and researchers in the area of trauma and psychology must have felt the same because the search for better answers has never come to a conclusion. Along the way, I came upon Internal Family Systems which embodied the core healing elements of many of the modalities that I had used over the years and provided a methodology that gave clear direction and measurable results. As I've employed this modality I have watched my clients make significant changes and heal in ways that took significantly longer or seemed unattainable with other therapies that I had employed over the years. There is plenty of information on this website regarding Internal Family Systems, but I leave you with this truth, everyone can become the person they were meant to be and I would appreciate the honor of being one to help you get there.
How people heal has been part of the evolution of psychology and neuroscience for decades. The amazing fact is that neuroimaging actually shows physical changes in the brain after "talk therapy" that is equal or greater than the changes that can occur from taking medication. I think it is vital that people understand that therapy is not simply sharing your pain but it can be transformative. Psychologists and therapists throughout history have explored the power of a healing relationship.
I am not a therapist who will simply listen and say nothing. My goal will be to understand you, put myself in your shoes as best I can and use my training and experience to help walk with you down the road that will bring the most change and healing to your life. Soren Kierkegaard said that the will to be ourselves is our highest calling. One of the fathers of Object Relations theory in therapy referred to people living out of their false selves. Sullivan the founder of Interpersonal therapy talked about the process of losing parts of ourselves and Perls, founder of Gestalt therapy, talked of therapy as reclaiming the squandered bits of ourselves. I mention a few of the giants in the field to point out some similarities in theory, that often our struggles result from lost parts of ourselves. In some ways we need to find ourselves again, to become the people we were meant to be.
Over the course of two decades, I have been trained and supervised in a variety of therapeutic modalities. As I've worked with clients over that time, I was never simply content with the results. As new research emerged in the area of neuroscience and trauma, I delved into it. My practice evolved as I listened to my clients and monitored what was effective and what was not. I found that most people were trying as hard as they were able and that simply talking about their issues, challeging their thoughts and behaviors, providing skills, getting them in touch with their emotions, helping them gain insight into their present and their past, providing homework and alternative choices were not really enough. All of those things represent the bedrock of different popular modalies and they were helpful but didn't seem to provide the life-changing effects that I believed in when I entered this practice.
Innovators and researchers in the area of trauma and psychology must have felt the same because the search for better answers has never come to a conclusion. Along the way, I came upon Internal Family Systems which embodied the core healing elements of many of the modalities that I had used over the years and provided a methodology that gave clear direction and measurable results. As I've employed this modality I have watched my clients make significant changes and heal in ways that took significantly longer or seemed unattainable with other therapies that I had employed over the years. There is plenty of information on this website regarding Internal Family Systems, but I leave you with this truth, everyone can become the person they were meant to be and I would appreciate the honor of being one to help you get there.