Therapist Profile

My Approach to Helping

I view all good therapy as whole person therapy. I find it useful to conceive the whole person in terms of the archetype of the Native American medicine wheel: a circle, with four equal quadrants, that can be viewed from various perspectives, one of thich is the representation of the self as made up of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects. Viewed in this way, the self is at once indivisible, and capable of being conceived as composed of, and by, Therapeutic techniques or modalities tend to favor one or other of these aspects as as their treatment focus. I like to describe my approach to my clients as "working around the medicine wheel". At times, the focus is on the mental or cognitive levels; at times, on the physical or somatic experiencing level; while, at other times, the emotional self may be uppermost in focus. Finally, the spiritual, understood as the realm of deep meaning and intuition, may be seeking recognition or expression. Different realms of experience require different approaches. I draw up[on the wisdom tradition, myth, literature, and dreams, as well as on the most current understanding of trauma and the brain suported by neuroscience. In the wisdom tradition, healing is often portrayed as a journey. I see the role of the therapist as that of a guide on the client's journey to healing. The symbolic language of dreams and myth illuminates both the challenges fracing the client, as well as the often hidden or overlooked resources available for overcoming these challenges. Significant influences are Jung, Milton Erickson, Peter Leving, and Bessel Van der Kolk.

More Info About My Practice

My sessions are 90 minutes in length, to provide for in depth exploration of issues. While some issues can be resolved in a few sessions, in my experience, most long standing issues are rooted in childhood developmental trauma, and require longer-term therapy. While I deal with a range of issues in the adult population from stress to life direction and meaning, a significant number of my clients are people in successful recovery from alcohol or other addiction, who find themselves encountering the need for deeper healing. Adult children of addicted parents, and trauma survivors of abusive childhoods often present with many similar underlying issues. Reconnecting with the body, and activating its healing potential are important aspects of my practice. At the same time, the mind and its labyrinthine ego defenses have to be skilfully engaged and restored to supportive function. The emotional and feeling self has also to be fully acknowledged, and allowed to come into balance from its too much or too little habituation. The facilitation of suppressed grief is often a critical factor. Finally, the goal of mindfulness, being in lthe present, cannot be met as long as there is separation from the body. The healing of trauma is the healing of that separation.