My Approach To Counseling Is . . .
Collaborative
Counseling is a collaboration, an active partnership that we build together. My job is to meet you where you’re at, help you discover where you’re going, and follow your feedback each step of the way. Together we figure out how this process will best serve you and develop a relationship of trust and respect.
Interactive
Compassionate listening is one of the cornerstones of counseling, but my style is also interactive. I ask insightful questions, engage you in thought-provoking discussions, propose new ways of looking at things, and suggest techniques to help deepen your experience and draw out potential solutions.
Non-Pathologizing
I believe counseling should be kind and curious. It should be non-judgmental and value who you are. I view troubles as gateways to new information and understanding, not as indicators that there is something wrong with you. I’m most interested in helping you see what’s right with you!
Forward-Focused
Your past is important. Counseling provides a safe place to process the past so you can better understand how it shapes and informs your present. However, the real goal of our work is to help you move forward! Together we will honor the story that was and craft a more empowering narrative towards your future.
Strengths-Based
Everyone has a unique set of qualities, talents, and skills available to them, and there is great value simply in who you are. My approach is to help you recognize and build on the strengths, resources, and resiliency you already possess so you can draw from this valuable skill set during challenging times.
Quirky
Sometimes my style can be a bit quirky, playful, surprising. If that approach interests you, we can explore nighttime dreams, engage in role-play, follow irrational tendencies, track the symbolic and mythic, invoke storytelling and imagination, and honor the “crazy wisdom” at work within you.
I support the deepest, most authentic parts of you even if they are out-of-the-ordinary, wild, edgy, or shy.
Theoretical foundations informing my work
There are many different methods of counseling and they all offer effective theories and techniques for encouraging awareness, healing, and change. My own approach is integrative, which means I blend different but complimentary theories together so the counseling experience can be flexible and tailored to your particular needs, situation, personality, and comfort level.
My approach combines the theoretical foundations of Process Oriented Psychology (bringing awareness to the edges of your identity and the diversity of your inner experiences), Family Systems Therapy (understanding the complex emotional systems at work in your relationships), Depth Psychology (supporting the emergence of personal insight and symbolism), Narrative Therapy (crafting narratives that shape your perception, self-image, and sense of purpose), and Positive Psychology (focusing on resiliency, strengths, and meaning-making).