therapy options
Therapy is a treatment process that uses different techniques of caring that is designed to offer effective, long lasting support for clients suffering from a wide range of difficulties such as grief and loss, trauma, abuse, depression, anxiety, or relationship issues to name a few. Therapy can also help with life transitions, and aspirations for personal growth and awareness. At its core, therapy is all about doing life with awareness, which is the best way to honor it, and to meet the suffering that comes with it. Jung says: “I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become”. In a way both are true; what happens to us impacts us deeply, and we can learn and grow through our experiences, the good and the bad, as opposed to letting them trap or control us. We can all lead lives consciously and choicefully.
One of the biggest misconceptions about therapy is that requiring the support of a therapist is a sign of weakness. On the contrary, recognizing the need for help and support as we go through life with the unique challenges that it presents us with requires strength, determination and wisdom as well as a belief in the change for the better. Working together with your therapist you will be able to determine the goals of therapy that meet your unique needs and wants, and agree on what venues of exploration you will embark upon. The purpose of therapy is to offer an opportunity to listen to and remember who we are, and discover our inherent strengths and possibilities that will help us get closer to our life goals and self-actualization. A Cherokee saying goes: “Everything in life comes to you as a teacher. Pay attention and learn quickly”.
Therapy is often thought of, as the “talking cure” since the exchange of words is the obvious form of communication between client and therapist. However, therapy offers more than what an exchange with a close friend or a family member can offer. It is a unique relationship in that both parties are focused on the issues of one of the parties, the client. Since the relationship with your therapist is essential to the effectiveness of the process, it is very important that you find someone with whom you feel comfortable and safe. As therapy progresses the “therapeutic alliance” that you co-create will generate opportunities to have corrective experiences that help you work through problems, heal emotional wounds, and move towards leading a life that is closer to your heart’s desires.
My theoretical orientation is influenced and informed by Psychoanalytic traditions, art therapy, sand tray therapy, Jungian therapy, transpersonal psychology, gestalt therapy, and somatic psychotherapy practices. I have provided you with a brief explanation of some of these modalities below. It is important to keep in mind that each counseling relationship ends up being a unique process that we co-create.
