I believe therapy is an opportunity to grow into your most authentic self. Over time, and through the development of conscious and unconscious defenses, we can loose sight of our truest nature. It can become harder to access joy and remember the awe and wonder of new experiences with ourselves and within our relationships. Making sense of the world around us can begin to feel heavy and debilitating. These feelings are all signals that we are in need of attention and care. Therapy is a guided process to unwind from patterns of thinking, feeling, and interacting in order to create space for something new. I rely on many different modalities to support what is needed for each person to find their place of self-love and connectedness. Often, this is a process of uncovering the underlying causes of suffering as a way of transforming what has harmed us into something that now brings us inner wisdom and power. My approach is highly relational and humanistic. The three modalities that stand out the most for me are Healing-centered practice, Integrative somatic therapy, and Psychodynamic therapy.

Healing-centered practice is a holistic approach that focuses on restoring balance by tapping into our inner strength and resources. Many of us have learned to survive by disconnecting from our feelings. Healing-centered practice is a gentle approach to get back in touch with the wisdom of our inner self and learning to listen to and meet our emotional needs. This approach increases awareness, builds cultural identity and also considers the impact of trauma, oppression, and the historical context in which we all live.

Integrative somatic therapy is a body-oriented, embodiment approach that interacts with talk therapy. Through Integrative somatic therapy we will explore the interaction between the mind, body and spirit as a way to learn emotional regulation and regain balance. The root of anxiety and depression is often found in an overactive mind. We have all been heavily influenced by a culture that overemphasizes individualism and demands rigorous intellectualism. Unfortunately, this way of living, without attending to our bodies and spirits, can have devastating effects on our mental, emotional, and spiritual health. Integrative somatic therapy allows us to come back to our bodies and begin to release painful memories and stored trauma in a way that builds our resilience, increases our comfortability with boundaries, and fosters an expanded sense of physical and emotional safety with ourselves and others.

Psychodynamic therapy is helpful in understanding the root of how we think, feel, and interact. Through psychodynamic therapy we tend to go deep into exploring the impact of childhood experiences and how we developed protective defenses that still linger in our current lives. The outcome is increased self awareness, and raising unconscious feelings and emotions to the conscious level so that choices can be made about how you want to be in your life now. In application of each of these therapy modalities and several others, we will be expanding our capacity for present moment awareness with increased compassion and openness for growth.