My Approach to Helping
My fundamental tools are empathy and Focusing expertise. I listen with full attention to the details of what my clients experience, providing a witness to all the voices and perspectives in their feelings, and assisting them to develop a self-empathic attitude. Together, we create an environment that is safe enough for feelings to deepen, open up, and change. When this process happens, the person finds his or her own answers as to what steps should come next, and they end up feeling better and more confident in living in more satisfying ways.
More Info About My Practice
I offer educational products at my website that allow people to learn Focusing, Empathic Listening, and Couple Enhancement skills with my guidance and coaching.
How Psychotherapy Can Help
Many people don't realize the power they have implicit in their own experiencing to devise solutions and make changes that will dramatically improve how they feel and their effectiveness in living. Quality psychotherapy provides an environment in which a person can discover this power and put it to use. Some of what people learn in psychotherapy is to identify dysfunctional patterns of thinking and communication, but this is secondary in importance to the quality of bond between the therapist and the client. As client, you should feel very well understood and cared about and respected by your therapist. With these ingredients, you will be able to delve into your own experiences and feelings in a way that discloses possible changes and new ways of proceeding that you hadn’t come up with before. Part of what happens is many times emotional processing of things that have happened in the past — the very things that shaped the patterns of behavior that don’t serve you so well in your present-day life. Although the emotions can be sad and at times intense, you quickly learn that the unpleasantness is usually short lived and followed by relief that you can feel throughout your whole body and spirit.
What I Say to People Concerned about the Therapy Process
I have been practicing Focusing-oriented therapy for over 30 years. I have also taught Focusing in several countries and in the US, and conducted research on Focusing that has been published and used to help others learn more about Focusing and its effects. I tell you this background to establish that I have a great deal of experience with teaching Focusing. One of the key tenets of Focusing is that you can explore your feelings from a safe, solid place inside of you and that you are in control of how you proceed and you decide what is the right amount of time and intensity with emotions. People who haven’t discovered how this is true may find it hard to believe that it is possible, but people quickly learn it when they are accompanied by a skilled Focusing-oriented therapist, who understands with great subtlety and absolute respect for the wisdom of your own instincts and feelings, and your most central self. This combination of close listening and respect for all of your feelings quickly builds a sense of confidence in clients that they can productively work with their emotions and gain a great deal from the experience.
