My Approach to Helping
Often the folks who walk into my office are extremely bright and appear pulled together.
Their internal sense of self is much different than appearances, though. In their body, they might feel like a big head floating around, or like a shell, or weighted down in a suffocating way. All while attempting to function. That's really hard to do!
It's especially tricky when they have life decisions to make or sudden changes in their life. How do they figure out what to do when their super active, complicated, and often-judgmental mind leads the way?
As a fellow over-thinker, I find it's most useful to guide my patients to s l o w d o w n.
The way we do it is simple: It's by turning our attention toward physical sensations and emotions as experienced in the body. Some folks call this mindfulness.
It may not be easy to do alone, however. When we're really good at thinking ourselves in circles, sticking so close to what we notice physically is new, and can feel "weird" initially, and...can often lead to a pretty instant sense of relief.
Some relief is often possible from the get-go!
Yes, therapy necessarily includes giving room for what's been previously overwhelming for us historically. In our therapy together, we do so within the context of hope and connection. We give room for your resilience, for laughter, room to share in the satisfaction of feeling settled in yourself while connected to someone else.