Experience

There is a difference between intellectually understanding the ways we move through the world and how our beliefs impact our behaviors, and having a lived, felt experience of how we get in our own way and what healing connection feels like.

I am interested in creating space for those lived, felt experiences.

I am interested in what happens to us in connection with another.

I am interested in how we connect.

I am interested in what emerges in relationship as a result of the therapeutic process.

And I am interested in the spaces, environments and conditions that facilitate connection and change, and ways to bring more of these spaces into our everyday lives.

Awareness

I believe that our freedom lies in the moments that exist between an event occurring and our reaction to it. When there is no space between an event and our reaction, our responses are dictated by old beliefs and habitual ways of responding, that are often outside of our awareness. Ways that might not serve us anymore. In working with me, one of our goals will be to create more awareness, to lengthen the moments that exist between an event and our reaction. When we give ourselves more space, we get to decide how we want to respond – we get to shape our own lives, relationships and futures.

Beliefs

I have learnt that as children we make decision about who we are as people and the way the world works. We often carry these beliefs forward into adulthood without stopping to question the truth of them.

Our body has information for us about these beliefs. About what we believe about ourselves, others and the world. It is our job to just try and listen to it. One of the ways we look at our beliefs is by building awareness of our physical sensations, emotions and thoughts. These three are always interrelated.

Therapy provides a supportive space to look at these beliefs and whether they continue to serve us as adults. When we numb ourselves to our physical sensations and emotions, we lose the only way we have to know what hurts us and why.

Relationship

We facilitate change through relationship.

Relationships in all forms make my world go around, be they romantic, family or friendships. I see the ability to build strong, resilient relationships as essential to mental health and wellness and a general sense of happiness in life. The self is formed in relationship rather than existing in some way prior to relationship, in fact we have never existed outside of a relationship – the first relationship being with our mothers in utero.

Our relationships shape the way we respond to the world. The way our family responds to pain shapes how we respond to pain. The way our family responds to anger shapes how we respond to anger. The way our family responds to love and care shapes the way we respond to love and care.

The therapeutic relationship is healing. The experience of being accepted for who we are, just the way we are, moment to moment, whether in our “good” sides and our “shadow” sides is healing in and of itself.