Psychotherapy
Something in life has brought you to therapy, and something in therapy will teach you about life.
The act of seeking support is an important first step, and I am truly glad you came here to find it. My approach to psychotherapy and counseling is grounded in classical training and manifested through warm, caring conversations and body-oriented practices. Our therapeutic relationship is one that we build together in order to uncover and move through life's complexities.
I specialize in a wide range of issues, including anxiety, depression, interpersonal relationships, panic, abandonment issues, forgiveness, chronic illness and pain management, trauma, crisis, life transitions, care giving issues and aging. I work with individuals and couples as well as parents and children.
Feel free to contact me to learn more about how sessions would work and to schedule an appointment.
I Believe
Robert Lewis, MD, member of the International Institute for Bioenergetics Analysis, Faculty, describes so well his mission as a therapist.
"When you have no words for your feelings, for what happened to you, for what is missing in you, we listen to the inner resonance - of your inchoate secrets - as it lives in your body. We help you to sense and amplify this inner resonance until its movement comes close enough to the surface of your being to enter your consciousness. But we also listen carefully to your words and are touched by them when they come from a depth of your being that no one can put a hand on. We invite you to surrender to the spirit of your body and the body of your spirit - and in so doing, to embrace your true self."
Mindfulness for Chronic Pain
Whether you have chronic pain or are going through a painful time, mindfulness can help. I work with you using mindfulness philosophies and practices are grounded in the Buddhist Insight Tradition. Mindfulness, as taught in this tradition, asks you to be with what is here, right now, in this moment.
Bringing awareness to this moment, in a conscious, thoughtful and compassionate way opens an incredibly powerful door to being able to tolerate the present moment without wanting it to be any other way. This practice cultivates the ability to be with pain or loss or anxiety or hate or any emotion, positive or negative, in a skillful way.
I Have Learned
“ In life, we think that the point is to pass the test or overcome the problem. The real truth is that things don't really get solved. They come together for a time, then they fall back apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It's just like that.
Personal discovery and growth come from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.
Suffering comes from wishing things were different. Misery is self inflicted, when we are expecting the "ideal" to overcome the "actual," or needing things (or people, or places) to be different for us so we can then be happy.
Let the hard things in life break you. Let them effect you. Let them change you. Let these hard moments inform you. Let this pain be your teacher. The experiences of your life are trying to tell you something about yourself. Don't cop out on that. Don't run away and hide under your covers. Lean into it."
~ Pema Chödron
Mindfulness Practice Group
for Chronic Pain and Illness
There is something special that happens in taking refuge in Sangha with like minded people who are seeking to discover a way to find relief and community with chronic pain and illness. Community has a way of opening the heart and softening the body and the mind. Pain can be a support to deepen our mindfulness meditation practice and living more in the present moment.
We will have a place to expand our mind with mindfulness principles such as acceptance, surrender and compassion when in the company of others who are looking for the same thing.
Our time together will be a place to slow down, quiet our nervous system and embrace what can be so unpleasant. This will be a time for sitting, walking meditation, and exploring together the teachings that come with chronic pain. Finding peace in the presence of pain.
Previous meditation experience would be helpful but not necessary. Contact me to find out more about group classes.