I see beauty and creativity in the way all of us learn to adapt to life’s challenges. Whether you learned to numb your emotions, put up a wall, expect yourself to be perfect, or something else, it helped you to survive to this point and shows that you can adapt and change; you are resilient.
In this age of isolation, polarization, unrealistic social media content, and limited human connection, the opportunity to ‘be with’ another in all our complexity and in a space free from judgement is sorely lacking. Authentic human connection is vital to our well-being and sometimes so difficult to find or accept.
More than any therapeutic method, it’s the relationship between therapist and client that most supports change.
As a relational gestalt therapist, this is at the core of what I offer.
Many of my clients come to therapy feeling stuck, lost, disconnected from themselves, their bodies, and other people, the feelings are too much, they are overwhelmed and wanting to find a way out of the muck.
We say in Gestalt therapy that it is through relationship with others that we find ourselves.
So that’s where we start. Instead of trying to change you, fix you, or pull you out of the muck, I meet you there. From this starting point, therapy with me then becomes the playground in which we can explore the ‘muck’ – your stuck patterns, symptoms, feelings, thoughts, and body sensations – all with the aim of raising awareness and allowing new possibilities for being in your body, in relationship and in the world to emerge.
In this playground, we will go beyond just talking ‘about’ stuff. We’ll listen to and explore the “unspoken voice” of your body and creatively explore what’s emerging in the present moment. Explorations can include art, metaphor, writing, movement, visualization, play, psychodrama, dream work, etc.
Together we can work with ‘unfinished business’ from the past, trauma stored in the body and the ways you learned to adapt, to discover what your symptoms are saying about what you need now.
I won’t try to fit you into a psychological theory, diagnostic category, or cultural or gender box. My work is both trauma-informed and a safe space for those who are non-binary and LGBTQ2S.
WHO I WORK WITH
I work with individuals 16+ experiencing:
– Anxiety & Panic
– Depression & emotional numbness
– Chronic shame
– Obsessions & compulsions
– Shock trauma
– History of abuse
– The effects of childhood neglect
– Abandonment and relational trauma
– Grief & loss
– Loneliness and disconnection
– Dissociation
– Identity issues
– Borderline personality disorder
– Impulsive anger
– Emotional dysregulation
– Body image & self-esteem issues
– Relationship issues
– Addiction
– Life transitions
