INDIVIDUAL THERAPY
Navigating life’s journey alone is not the answer.
In fact, you are not designed to sit silently while dealing with life’s challenges in isolation.
We are pressured all our lives to do things well on our own. There are endless messages like “live strong” and “just do it.” These are usually accompanied by an image of a heroic, solitary individual pursuing a difficult goal.
Our culture bombards us with messages that vulnerability is shameful and something to be hidden. This is what we have all been taught.
It starts by overcoming your internal battle.
Based on the signals that our culture provides, no wonder there is a battle within you right now about whether to take this next step!
As a therapist, I sometimes encourage patients to consider that their decision to begin therapy is quite radical and counterculture.
But making that decision can create profound changes for the better.
It’s about being who you are.
You were designed to experience the gift of being known.
And this should not be just a superficial encounter, where you recite the facts of your life and expect a behavioral prescription to make things comfortable enough.
Individual therapy is an opportunity to know yourself as a BEING – not just a DOER.
Therapy provides a place where “the gaze of another” provides a profound message that you are enough, that you are lovable, and that your life is a wondrous gift to the world.
Another’s eyes provide a true reflection.
Truly knowing one’s self does not happen by reading a self-help book in a room by ourselves.
It is experienced in the “neurobiology of we.” None of us can fully know ourselves until we are seen through someone else’s eyes.
Sometimes healing is a journey into the past.
I once worked with a successful, energetic woman at mid-life. A couple years after therapy was over, she shared some interesting feedback.
For her, one of the most memorable pieces of our healing journey together was when she would curl up on my couch and weep quietly for several minutes. Sometimes, she would share a few words, usually she would choose silence for 15 or 20 minutes. And I just stayed with her – knowing that she was deep below the surface doing her life’s work.
At times, we verbally processed some content at the next session. But usually, there were few words.
The transformation came because she stayed connected to her pain – and did it within my presence. I was a witness to her suffering. It healed some of the life-long loneliness that arrived with the death of her father when she was nine.
Don’t dive alone.
Diving deep with a therapist sometimes involves reconstructing life events that caused pain and shame.
Sharing your story within the safe connection of our relationship allows you to tell a truer story.
No longer do you have to pretend and hide. No longer are you so alone.
Piece together pearls.
Sometimes, therapy is a quest to discover lost parts of yourself.
It can be a place to share what you most desire and of what you are most afraid.
I stay on the journey with people until they find their pearls. They enjoy new peace with themselves and fresh hope for their future. Those gems are beautiful, precious, rare, and belong to you for a lifetime.
Let’s dive together and find your pearls.
I specialize in connecting with pearl divers.
Reach out today if you are ready to start therapy with me.