I view therapy as an interactive self-discovery process and our therapy relationship is central to successful changes. My approach is to engage you in the here and now and help you focus on your experience and to identify and act on your choices. That means not focusing on what you "should" do but rather on what you want, need, and can do, given your particular life situation. My interactions with you are directed towards assisting you to be fully alive, vibrant, coherent, and clear in relationships. I assist you becoming aware of your internal processes (thinking, feeling, sensory), as well as your experience of the world around you. I will suggest experimenting with new behaviors and ways of being in the world. I will provide support and guidance for you to feel safe as you face and confront unresolved painful issues.
We begin with a few moments of introducing ourselves and creating a sense of a safe environment. I prefer to begin immediately to explore the issues that that are presented by the client. By immediately attending to relevant issues, my experience is that clients are able to recognize the potential of change in that very first session.
Helping you pay attention to what you are experiencing in this moment, experimenting with new behaviors and ways of thinking, and helping you have coherent and resolution oriented contact in relationships are central to my approach. I meet you in a supportive and nurturing therapeutic environment.
Partly because I have been counseling for many years, I enjoy and I am very experienced with working with a wide variety of issues and challenges. I also like working with clients of all ages. Additionally, I have specialized working with couples and the relationship challenges that arise in enduring relationships.
My Gestalt therapy approach uses 3 practice orientations, self-awareness, contact (with self and others), and experiment (trying new behaviors, ways of thinking).