Each life is filled with 10,000 joys
and 10,000 sorrows.
Buddhist Saying
Philosophy
People may make contact when they
are in crisis, such as a relationship
breakup, or job loss, but most often
seek psychotherapy when old familiar
patterns of thinking,
feeling and behavior are not serving/ working anymore, causing unhappiness, hopelessness,
frustration, irritation, and general disease with life.
Within our working alliance we can explore and bring to awareness conscious and unconscious (i.e., dreams, free association) psychic, emotional, sexual conflicts. New perspectives emerge and clients begin to understand her/himself in different and expanded ways that foster change to habitual feelings and thoughts about self and actions with others and the external world.
I work with many individuals who have experienced emotional, sexual, verbal, physical and
spiritual abuse. The effects of trauma can permeate one’s entire life, leave one immobilized
and unable to move forward. One’s capacity for handling emotions and life’s challenge’s is
often diminished. Along with problems of trusting others can be feelings of self-blame,
worthlessness, lack of self-cohesion, helplessness, repressed anger, low self-esteem and patterns
of underfunctioning or overfunctioning.
The ‘working through process’ occurs through the collaborative relationship cultivated over time
between the therapist and client. This process can eventually free one from restricting,
inhibiting, self-critical internal messages that interfere and often block one’s ability to
feel hopeful, worthy, deserving, lovable, capable, creative and ‘good enough.’