INDIVIDUAL

In the beginning is the relation.   ~ Martin Buber

Much of our wounding happens in relationship, as does our healing. For a myriad of reasons, many of us were not fully seen or known as children. In response, we developed strategies and behavior patterns to compensate. Unfortunately, many of these early ways of coping no longer serve us as adults. As a result, we can experience depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-doubt or a more general sense of disconnect from what truly matters in our life. Psychotherapy offers the chance to be fully seen and listened to deeply by another. In this setting, your body can begin to relax, and you may feelmore able to look at parts of your life that have previously felt too painful or difficult.  Entering therapy is an act of courage and faith. It’s an expression of the desire for things to be different. While we cannot always change the particulars of our circumstances, we absolutely can change how we relate to the unforeseen twists and turns of our life. Therapy is a place for exploration and understanding. It is a place to find your way back to your deepest knowing, where you can stand in your truth and say, “Here I am. This is me.”

Teen & Tween Girls

You do not have to be good/ you do not have to walk on your knees/ a hundred miles in the desert repenting/ you only have to let the small animal of your body love what it loves.  ~ Mary Oliver

Adolescence is a time of tremendous change for girls; their bodies and brains, their friendships and identities are tested and challenged, rewarded and negated. In my work with tween and teen girls, I seek to help them identify, understand and stay connected to what is really true for them. Amidst the wash of external and internal pressures, it’s so easy for young girls to be knocked off-balance. Having a trusted adult to serve as mentor and guide can provide a ballast for their sense of integrity and truth. Girls are searching for ways of connecting and making meaning in their lives, but all too often, they are seeking answers in the wrong places. This can manifest in anxiety, depression, self-doubt, lack of confidence, loneliness, and/or rebellion. I believe adolescent girls are craving a connection to something larger than themselves, and part of my work is to help them understand this quest and to make meaning and connection in healthy, life-affirming ways.

COUPLES

Because the condition of marriage is worldly and its meaning communal, no one party to it can be solely in charge. What you alone think it ought to be, it is not going to be. Where you alone think you want it to go, it is not going to go. It is going where the two of you — and marriage, time, life, history, and the world — will take it. You do not know the road; you have committed your life to a way.
 ~ Wendell Barry

So much of living in partnership is about clear communication and compromise, but we often come together ill-equipped for the tasks of true intimacy. I strive to deepen your understanding of what may actually be going on beneath those same arguments or behavior patterns you may find so frustrating. 

I seek to provide couples with the space and time to develop healthy communication patterns and clear away the debris of projections, unmet or previously unexpressed desires and expectations, and begin to truly see and accept each other's gifts and flaws. It is from this place that individuals can manifest their partnerships in a meaningful and deeply satisfying way.   

And, not all partnerships are meant to stay together. Sometimes we must honor changing circumstances, needs and desires. I seek to help couples navigate as wise a parting as possible, with an intention to honor the beauty of what was and help co-create  a new path forward, if necessary.