My approach with individuals and couples is an integration of more than twenty years of education, training, and clinical practice, shaped by my values, temperament and lived experiences.
The two primary influences on my work are: Hakomi Therapy and Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy.
Relationship is at the heart of psychotherapy
You can count on my compassionate and reliable presence, regardless of what arises for you in our sessions. In individual therapy, our relationship serves as a safe "practice ground" for self-awareness, exploration and expanding the realm of possibilities. In couples therapy, our focal point is the connection between the two of you, as well as the barriers to feeling close. It is also essential that each of you feels my support and alliance as you take risks to understand and be understood.
Our work is held within a clearly defined container established by confidentiality, scheduled session times and a consent for therapy. At the same time, we journey together into real connection and genuine caring. With all clients, I weave my skill and instinct with your feedback, creating an effective balance of directing and allowing your process.
Embodied psychotherapy is...
Transformative:
Everything that takes place in session is in the service of your wholeness, well-being and goals.
I appreciate this simple formula: Change = 3 A's: Awareness, Acceptance and Action (in that order!)
Experiential:
We begin with your felt experience in the present moment as the means of knowing yourself more fully. I will guide you to "study" your internal experience, revealing both limiting patterns and preferred states.
Mindfulness-based:
You will be guided to turn your attention inward with a receptive, non-judgmental attitude. Mindfulness brings increased awareness to all the "channels" of experience: sensation, emotion, imagery, impulse, breath, posture and energy. We slow down and investigate your direct experience, with the ultimate outcome of more conscious choice in your actions.
Somatic:
As you tune into the language of your body, you can connect to deep knowing that may have been out of your awareness. The body is a rich pathway to core material, the formative memories, beliefs and images of early life that tend to strongly influence your thoughts, feelings and actions.
Resource-rich:
Every session includes resourcing practices that tap into and cultivate nourishing, comforting, enlivening, and/or desirable states. Learn more about Resourcing.
Responsive:
Your uniqueness directs the therapy. We remain attuned to your goals and needs in each moment and in the larger arc of our work. I listen carefully to what you tell me explicitly, and what you communicate nonverbally, ensuring safety, especially when we are exploring vulnerable or traumatic material.
To learn more about my work with individuals and couples,
go to the Hakomi and EFT pages.
A bit more about my style
Clients describe my style as warm, compassionate, present and engaged. I also view myself as real and accessible, touched by both the painful and celebratory moments, yet sturdy and unintimidated by strong emotions or taboo subjects. While I am not a "blank screen," I hold the boundaries of therapy thoughtfully. Humor and imagination are often present in therapy sessions, as are all facets of humanness.
From my vantage point, each individual and couple is situated within the personal, familial, cultural and spiritual contexts, and cannot be reduced to a description, diagnosis or typology. Clients typically find themselves surprisingly comfortable exploring whatever needs attention. My work arises from deep respect and a heartfelt desire for your greatest aliveness. It is my good fortune, and a true joy, to practice embodied psychotherapy and to witness enhanced connection and healing.