My approach to working somatically is informed largely by Hakomi, as well as my own personal exploration through body centered ways of healing. The body is always communicating with us, but we are not always listening. A somatic approach teaches us how to deeply attune to the language of our body, to listen and to feel the story that our body wants to tell. Letting the body move and speak through us is a great practice and exploration, that can lead to great insight, release of old patterns, and integration.

I honor the uniqueness of each person and believe that each one of us intuitively knows the ways that move us towards greater growth, healing, freedom and expression in our lives. I have great respect for this inner knowing in each of us. The mirror of the therapeutic relationship is a safe and clear space for us to find our way into and through the challenges of our life

I use a mindfulness based approach to working with overwhelming, invasive or distracting thoughts and feelings. On the one hand, we may not have a choice what thoughts and feelings arise, but we do have some choice in how or if we give our attention to those thoughts and feelings. Developing resources of mindfulness can help us shift how we choose to relate to ourself, our thoughts and feelings. In addition, how and what we think about greatly impacts the way we feel and relate to ourself and others. Developing tools to help train our minds to think more positively can help us to have greater joy and happiness in our life.

The root word psyche means “life” or “breath”, and is often translated as “soul” or “spirit”. A depth or psychodynamic approach recognizes that there is much more to us and our process of growth than we are able to easily see or understand through our conscious mind. If our goal through psychotherapy is to become the full expression of our true self, then it may be important to get in touch with parts of us that we are not fully conscious of. Recognizing synchronicities, dreams, intuitions and more, can open us up to what the Unconscious is trying to communicate with us, and bring us into direct contact with Great Mystery.