My Approach

Holistic Psychology

Holistic psychology is defined differently by each practitioner, but in my definition, it’s seeing the wholeness that you already are and meeting it with powerful synthesized techniques to support yourself on your path. It’s trusting the value in your pain before it reveals the answer, and seeing struggle as a wise and worthy teacher.

I approach my practice and my life holistically, which means honoring and accessing the many sources of strength, from the traditional to the innovative, the practical and the transformational, integrating the scientific and the spiritual. Just like no two clients are ever the same, no two means of healing are ever identical. For this reason, I synthesize many different approaches in my work, from leading-edge advances in emotion, cognition, and neuroscience, to research based nutrition knowledge, to deeply personal spiritual exploration. I’ll serve as your advocate, holding space for your best interests and handling your most sensitive and private moments of healing with care.

EMDR

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a trusted approach that many therapists use to help clients move forward and find emotional freedom. Created by Dr. Francine Shapiro, it’s a process that promotes rapid healing from symptoms and distress caused by traumatic or disturbing life experiences. EMDR is one of the most researched psychotherapy approaches, repeatedly demonstrating significant benefits that once took years to achieve.

Just as the body recovers from injuries, your brain can also heal from psychological traumas. EMDR’s approach is designed to assist and support your brain as it re-processes blocks and experiences that can keep you feeling “stuck”. By gently supporting the brain in processing the various components of a distressing memory, this technique can help you release past traumas and make room for new, better, and healthier experiences.

You might be aware of what’s causing your distress, or you might not have made the connection between your current symptoms and the original ‘root’ cause — you just have a nagging sense that something is off, or doesn’t feel right. In either case, painful experiences of the past may be causing you struggles in the present, leading to frustrating cycles of negative self-talk or harmful self-fulfilling prophecies that prevent progress. Physical symptoms can also be triggered, along with a “numbing out” or “zoned out” feeling and/or a desire to withdraw from the rest of the world.

Together, we can use EMDR to bring clarity and connections to your mind and body, and reduce symptoms that are linked to remnants of the past. We’ll explore this process together, in a safe space where you feel supported, so that you feel able to move past the traumas you’ve carried this far.

EMDR is used for many treatment issues and has been found effective by American Psychiatric Association, the International Association for Traumatic Stress Studies, the Departments of Veteran Affairs and Defense, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence, and the World Health Organization. For further information, please refer to www.EMDRIA.org or www.EMDR.com.

Energy Psychology and Energy Medicine

Working with your body’s energy is a powerful pathway to tremendous health and vitality. As someone who has enjoyed a lifelong interest in energy psychology/medicine both personally and professionally, I’m so enthusiastic about helping others access their natural inner resources and boosting their awareness to manage stress, anxiety, negative thought patterns, and behaviors. The best part of this ever-growing, research based approach to traditional psychology is that it can be used every day or as needed, both for targeted symptom relief and deep on-going self-care. In addition to 30+ years of exploring and learning many forms of energy work, I am a certified energy medicine practitioner from the four-year program at Institute of Healing Arts and Sciences, (2000-2004), an Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT or ‘tapping’) practitioner for almost 20 years, and I have completed intensive trainings in the Eden Energy Medicine approach, working with Donna Eden and David Feinstein, PhD.

Spiritual Inquiry

More and more, people are increasingly aware of their yearning for a life of deep personal meaning and purpose. When there’s a sense of something missing or life being off course, I offer deep inquiry into the heart and offer guidance that aligns with your own personal authenticity and spiritual truth. My clients trust me to help them find lifelines to their own intuition, their deepest essence, and an amplified inner life. This is a continuous journey I am honored to share with you that moves toward deeper wisdom and the divine intelligence that supports us in manifesting a life that is in alignment with our truth.

Mindfulness and Breathwork

The breath is the essential lifeline to the way we move about life. I teach many approaches to mindfulness, meditation, and breathwork, all in service of moving you out of black-and-white to technicolor living with a gentle awareness of the body’s internal and external senses and sensations. In this approach, I help clients explore the necessity of orienting one’s day toward deep self-care and attuning to the breath through times of stress, anxiety, or distress. Learning how to structure a mindful day is one of the most critical skills for truly thriving, and has the power to completely transform the way you experience life from the inside out.

Intuition

Intuition is the keystone that a dynamic life is built on. It’s a primal knowing that helps you make decisions aligned with your identity, act from a place of authenticity, and manifest more of what you want for your life. Intuition can be hard to reach, however, which is why I serve as a helpful guide that encourages clients to access what they already know to be true.

Every action and interaction that happens inside of our sessions is designed to be of service to your intuition. A latent instinct that we often refer to as a ‘gut feeling’, intuition is a practice, a habit, and a worldview worth exploring in order to move closer to your true self.

I often hear from clients at the beginning of their journey that their greatest fear is becoming dependent on therapy to cope with the burdens of life. I want you to know that it’s not me doing this work — it’s all you. I may re-introduce you to your intuition, but your intuition is the strength that you already have and the power you learn to stand in all by yourself.

Integrative/Functional Medicine

Integrative/Functional medicine sees each patient as a whole person of interconnected systems rather than a series of individual symptoms. Combining the best of conventional medicine with what Integrative/Functional medicine offers creates powerful personalized medicine. I work with clients to understand the way the brain and body functions, and how imbalances in food, lifestyle, gut health, and nutrition can affect emotional, mental, and physical health.

When it comes to the relationship between body and mind, Integrative/Functional medicine sees it as being all connected. I’ll work with you to awaken an understanding of what might be affecting your body and its relationship to emotions, and how that translates to the symptoms you’ve been struggling with. Together, we can determine if you’re interested in seeking further assistance under the care of a licensed Integrative/Functional medicine physician or practitioner for detailed testing, guidance, and treatment.

Healing begins the moment you decide you want it.

Call or email to discuss how I can help you get there.