My Philosophy
My clinical practice philosophy is founded upon exploring the self. Many of us spend so much time focused on our external world, which is of great importance, but often we lose sight of ourselves. I often ask clients to dive deep into identifying and understanding their values and core beliefs that have and will shape how they want to show up in the world.
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As part of understanding you we will look at your upbringing, your relationships, and the challenges as well as accomplishments in your life. As we obtain greater understanding of your story and "the why's" of your story we can also center on the healing work of past traumas, current symptoms, and anticipatory stressors. In healing we create new space and opportunity for change and growth. As part of this process there will be some psychoeducation provided to help increase understanding as well as skill building to empower you to manage the stressors of life more effectively.
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I am a firm believer and research suggests that the primary element of therapy is the quality of the client-therapist relationship. I find great joy in and feel I have a natural ability to build rapport with clients of varying ages, genders, races, sexualities, political beliefs, socioeconomic backgrounds, and religious/spiritual/non-religious backgrounds.
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My aim with clients is for them to wholeheartedly feel that they are worthy of unconditional acceptance, regardless of their personal circumstances or struggles. It is not my role to place judgment nor am I the expert on you. It is my desire to come alongside, challenge, support, and encourage you to find healing emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually and to live as consistently as possible to what is authentically you.
My philosophy is centered around the belief that we, as humans, by nature are imperfect. We will screw up in some way or another and in varying amounts. If we can then sit in the reality of being imperfect and give ourselves and others grace and compassion while simultaneously having a willingness to grow and stretch and get uncomfortable, then we are doing a great job!
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My aim as your therapist is to serve as a guide to you better understanding yourself, the parts of you that exist, the trauma you have had and how all of these things impact the concerns you have come to therapy to address. Upon building a deeper understanding regarding these areas we can then open space for new insights, opportunities and skills to be built and ultimately significant shifts to be made.
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An essential part of our journey together is assisting you with getting in touch with your body and your emotions. The body senses things that the mind cannot and if you rely on your mind alone to make decisions, you miss critical signals and opportunities. In strengthening your mind-body connection we can help you reach a place where the majority of the time you are taking actions based on your intentions and goals rather than based on fear.
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In sharing my philosophy I find it important to share my values, vision, and purpose. The owner of my prior workplace introduced me to the book "The Big Five For Life", which emphasized the importance of discovering what your purpose for existence is as well as identifying five goals one desperately wants to achieve in life. I have included mine below to shed some light on my values as a therapist and as a human:
PURPOSE FOR EXISTENCE:
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To live as consistently as possible to the idea that the words "kia ora" represent. I want to treat myself, humans, animals and the natural world at large with care, thoughtfulness, authenticity, compassion, and a unifying energy. I want to serve in a way that is consistent with the Maori idea that humans are guardians and I want to live vibrantly in a way that honors and connects me to all of those parts of this life experience.
BIG FIVE FOR LIFE:
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1- Cultivate deep connection within my familial and friend/career relationships by giving them present attention, authenticity and love.
2- Maintaining a state of growth and challenging myself in my career journey of helping others heal and live vibrantly, authentically and vulnerably.
3- Feed my physical, emotional and mental soul by continuously giving attention to my health and wellness.
4- Exploration by traveling and getting my physical self outside in nature, whatever that looks like, albeit hiking, skiing, swimming, throwing the lacrosse ball with the pup or going for a walk to name a few!
5- To feel connected and present as much as possible in my days by engaging in the little simple moments of life such as dancing in the car, singing wholeheartedly, crying my eyes out, and laughing deep belly laughs.
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I appreciate that you have gotten this far in reading about my philosophy and should this resonate with you please feel free to reach out to schedule a free phone consultation or to discuss potential alternative supports for you.
Contact
Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions you may have regarding the therapy process.
480-801-7261