Healing is a life-long practice of tending to mind, body, & spirit
It is a way of relating to ourselves, each other, and our world
Psychotherapy & Consultation
Traumatic Stress - Transformative Experiences
Loss & Grief
Life-Threatening Illness & Chronic Pain
A wide variety of men and women work with me in psychotherapy presenting the kinds of challenges listed above. Mental health and other professionals (i.e. in law, business, and education) needing a psychological perspective work with me in consultation to assist their own work that touches on these arenas.
I work with after-effects of traumatic stress which may be the result of childhood experiences, accidents, military or job-related, medical diagnoses and procedures, societal-level trauma, and traumatic loss.
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Transformative experiencers (STE, NDE, OBE) are people who have had some kind of transcendent experience that they may or may not name as "spiritual." This may be an extraordinary experience, a near-death experience, experiences with expansion of consciousness, near-death/after death communications, or experiences that enabled a greater knowledge of consciousness in another way. Often people need assistance integrating these experiences into ordinary life. I am a member of the International Association of Near Death Studies, the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and have also had a number of transcendent, transformative experiences across my life.
Some would say that much of psychotherapy is about processing loss and grief -- these are certainly some of the most difficult circumstances humans experience. We can feel grief from a variety of experiences, including the loss of an innocent childhood or the loss of a healthy body, as well of course the death of loved ones including pets. People who have experienced sudden or unexpected losses and sudden deaths due to any reason frequently are traumatically grieving which needs special attention to both the trauma and the grief.
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For many years I worked in hospice settings and cancer retreat programs especially with younger adults dying, as well as with people living with chronic pain. I've accompanied many adults of all ages at the end of life as well as their loved ones. The psychological impacts of life-threatening illness and chronic pain are manifold, and often people need support and tangible practices that are helpful.
My Approach to Psychotherapy
Collaborative. Warmly intelligent. Seasoned. Interested in you.
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Psychotherapy is a process. While I work from weeks to years with clients, I work toward lasting growth in any case. I'm interested in your unique experiences, strengths, and challenges.
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The modalities I use in psychotherapy all have in common that we are products of our history, biology, identifications, present circumstances, and the wider social environment. Mindfulness, transpersonal, psychodyanmic-psychoanalytic, cognitive, behavioral, EMDR, biofeedback, and other somatic psychotherapies are among the perspectives I use to greater or lesser extent depending upon your needs and goals. We work together to use what is most helpful, and frequently what is most helpful evolves over time. Commonly, the psychotherapy relationship itself is the greatest vehicle to support transformation, and I pay attention to our interactions to deeply understand ways you relate to yourself, others, and the world.
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Together with clients I work to ease distress, build on strengths already present, gain insights, and cultivate relating to yourself and other people in life-enhancing ways. Meaning-making, self-compassion, and relational skill-building are frequently a part of the process too.
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I'm a seasoned psychologist with over 17 years of experience. I offer a secure therapeutic relationship where you can be yourself and grow.