I call what we do in therapy a collaborative spiritual workout where we put our heads and hearts together to figure out what is going on for you and how to get through it in a way that makes sense and feels right for you.

 

The fastest way to work through mental health issues is to take it slow and honor the rhythm and pace of the nervous system. We work at a pace and frequency that feels right to your nervous system, which we figure out together.

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A therapy experience of being seen, understood, accepted and attuned to over and over again helps folks regulate and better tolerate previously unbearable feelings. This in turn helps build clarity and self worth, which allows people to take more relational risks in life and seek out and cultivate the kind of connection the heart and spirit need instead of repeating old, painful, frustrating and dissatisfying patterns of relating. 

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Our upbringing, our relationships, the cultures and environments we live in and the stories we hear and tell ourselves, profoundly shape who we are, the way we perceive reality, and the life paths we take.

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When trauma and other forms of emotional and spiritual injuries are not responded to or repaired in the way we need, we develop all kinds of protective strategies and behaviors, or appropriate adaptations when living in hostile environments, as Dr. Joy DeGruy puts it.

 

Adaptive protective (survival) behaviors include things like shutting down, numbing out, dissociating, compulsions, intellectualizing, self-harming, harming others, avoiding, enmeshing, manipulating, fawning, isolating and so on. 

 

To be human is to be interdependent and wired for connection from cradle to grave. The adaptive/coping strategies and behaviors we develop can become psychological and spiritual prisons that keep us from giving and receiving the kind of love and care that we so desperately need. ​

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When these internal prisons become unbearable, therapy is one source of support that can help get us unstuck and on the path to liberation.

 

That was the case for me, though when I first began my own therapy journey, I had no idea or language to express the what, why and how I came to feel so lost, stuck and spiritually wilted, and it took a lot of time and work to learn how to get unstuck and more integrated and grounded which remains a work in progress through life's ebbs and flows.

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I want to know your story and together, make sense of the challenges you are facing today, as well as celebrate your wins.

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We will draw on tools, coping strategies and opportunities to support and sustain a more grounded, integrated, assertive and empowered You.

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Through our collaborative relationship we will explore your story and develop meaningful insights and perspectives that work for you, not against you. This will enable you bit by bit to gain more clarity, reconnect with your inherent power and worth and start making choices that align with the kind of life you prefer to live.

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FOCUS AREAS

I have experience supporting folks in the following areas:

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• Depression and Anxiety

• Identity exploration and Self development

• Boundaries, communication and consensual connection

• Interpersonal and Relationship issues

• Trauma recovery

• Disability and ableism

• Psychiatric assault recovery (e.g. ECT, coercion)

• Prostitution/porn/sex industry trauma recovery

• Grief and Loss

• Life transitions

• Substance misuse (harm reduction approach)

• Culture clash​

 

WHY WORK WITH ME?

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Studies prove over and over that it is the quality of the client-therapist relationship - also known as the therapeutic alliance - that makes for effective therapy more so than which therapy modality is used.

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Like any therapist, I'm a great match for some folks and not for others. What matters is finding the right therapist for YOU, because the fit between you and your therapist is what will make or break your therapy experience.

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I do my absolute best to understand and support you. And, I will make mistakes and let you down sometimes because I am a human being first and foremost.

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One of the most powerful and transformative parts of therapy is when rupture and repair happen, especially for folks who haven't had much experience with healthy conflict resolution. Engaging in repair conversations when ruptures occur in the client-therapist relationship is especially powerful from an attachment perspective.

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From start to finish, in small and large ways, the process of talk therapy is a corrective emotional experience when it is a good client-therapist fit. 

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If it doesn't feel like a good fit when we connect, I will be glad to suggest other therapists for you to check out.

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All therapy sessions are conducted virtually. I offer a free ~30 minute video consultation so you can get a "preview" of what therapy with me is like, and so we can get a sense of one another, how I can support you, and answer any questions you have for me. I look forward to connecting with you!