Tom O'Neill

About me

I went to Naropa University in Boulder, CO, receiving my masters in Contemplative Psychotherapy and Buddhist Psychology. So, I see psychological growth through a Buddhist lens. It’s possible to summarize that view as the movement toward authenticity, growing through versions of self that no longer feel genuine. In Buddhism that movement often starts with samvega: the realization that grooved cycles of suffering no longer serve us. We might ask ourselves: What makes me vulnerable to such cycles? How and when were the tracks laid down? We might enter a process of self-inquiry through which we become more our authentic selves, for change takes place in the heart when we grieve harmful circumstances and the adaptations of self we made to get through. In such a movement, we are waking up out of, so it’s the energy of wakefulness that’s active in us, that returns us to authenticity. Wakefulness might be the energy motivating you now to seek out a therapist. My style is collaborative: I share what I’m thinking, feeling, and formulating and invite reflection, reinterpretation, and pushback. A trustworthy therapeutic alliance is foundational to the kind of explorations that allow internal and external shifts to happen, so I hope to create a space of safety, playfulness, and depth. In facilitating the process of waking up out of, I draw from Jungian psychology, sometimes introducing dreamwork, active imagination, and archetypal and alchemical understandings. I also find parts work extremely useful in discovering and working with underlying emotions and beliefs. For parts work, I draw from the ideas and techniques of Gestalt psychology and Internal Family Systems (IFS). I also draw from the ideas and techniques found in CBT and DBT. My practice is integrated, employing a variety of modalities in the service of easing suffering and finding authenticity.

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