So, what happens in psychotherapy?
What happens in therapy is different for each person, because it is customized to your unique needs. It also differs between therapists, because we have differing approaches, personalities, and training. Generally, it’s a method of healing that involves giving you space to express various feelings and explore your past, present, and future. This conversation is structured in a way that supports you to heal injuries, work towards personal goals, and build strategies to cope with psychological challenges.
My personal approach...
People come to me for help with deepening their knowledge of themselves and the factors that influence their experience, thinking, and behavior. Usually, the people I work with have ways of being that have worked for them for most of their lives, which are increasingly getting in the way. We all have these patterns of thinking and behaving.
The more conscious you are about these patterns, the more choice you have about the life you are living.
My clients thank me for helping them to understand themselves in deep and enriching ways. And let's be honest, understanding is awesome. But they also benefit from having more options and agency in their life because of this knowledge.
Most of my clients long to experience ease and clarity in their lives, but feel thwarted by feelings they don’t understand. Psychotherapy can help you to understand the context behind and the message within your feelings. Emotions can then become a guide instead of an obstruction. Therapy can also help to increase your tools and expand your capacity to cope with big feelings.
I want to help you to have A BIGGER SELF AND A BIGGER LIFE. I don't just mean bigger in terms of accomplishment, but big enough to have room for you in it. I want your life and your capacity to be big enough for the good stuff as well as the uncomfortable, hard, and mysterious parts of life. Paradoxically, the more capacity we have to accept all parts of ourselves (and all the emotions too), the less power they have over us...and the more fun we can have.
I love to sit with people thinking and feeling our way through the tough, important stuff. I believe that we can expand our perspective in the presence of another's mind. In addition to providing knowledge and expertise from a decade of experience, this expanded perspective is a big part of what I can give you.