My Approach
I want to meet you where you're at and focus on what works for you at your pace. I draw mostly from these approaches:
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Relational & Collaborative
"In conversation things can be metabolized and digested through somebody else...whereas you’ll notice that your own mind is very often extremely repetitive. It is very difficult to surprise oneself in one’s own mind."
-Adam Phillips We are wounded in relationships and so we heal in relationships. Working in a relational and collaborative way supports you in becoming more aware of the past experiences and relational patterns that get in the way of you building the relationships you yearn for. I will support you in discovering what you need and want from relationships and how you want to show up in them.
Systems
“History matters, and an awareness of it puts our lives into a context. A disdain for history sets us adrift, and makes us victims of ignorance and denial. History lives in and through our bodies right now, and in every moment.”
― Resmaa Menakem, We live in a multilayered world spanning thousands of years of human history. We have been shaped by that. We will work to understand your unique context so that you will be able to root and orient yourself within human history. We will work in a way that takes into account the impacts of systems of oppression and privilege on your life. I hold space for the anger, the grief, and regrouping during this process.
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"One part of me feels this way but another part of me feels the exact opposite way and I'm stuck."
-We've all been there. A transformative, evidence-based psychotherapy that helps you heal by first connecting to your core Self*, and from there, understanding and loving your protective and wounded inner parts to create inner and outer connection and harmony.
*Self is in everyone. It can’t be damaged. It knows how to heal. Depth Psychology
“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” -C.G. Jung
It can be transformative to explore those corners of our psyche where we have repressed, rejected, denied or ignored parts of ourselves that we and/or society deemed unacceptable. When we become aware of those parts and meet them with compassion, we can integrate them and become more fully ourselves. Rather than using our life energy to avoid (we can be REALLY creative in avoidance techniques) what we have repressed, we can use that energy in service of living lives with more self awareness, agency, and meaning.
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The Body
“The body is a multilingual being. It speaks through its colour and its temperature, the flush of recognition, the glow of love, the ash of pain, the heat of arousal, the coldness of non-conviction".
-Clarissa Pinkola Estés There is a deep relationship between our emotions and our body. We really suffer when this relationship is severed. Have you ever logically understood something about your pain but that understanding didn't help at all? There's more to the story, found only in your body. I will support you in building a compassionate relationship to your own body so that you can tune into its wisdom and feel at home in it again --or for the first time.
Expressive Arts
"Art breaks the sea that’s frozen inside us."
-Franz Kafka When we are at a loss for words, we can turn toward art to explore our internal experience. We would collaborate on what kind of creative experience could work for you specifically. You don't have to identify as an artist for art therapy to be supportive.
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Offering in person sessions in Berkeley and virtual sessions to residents of California.
