When we focus on the whole person, not just the challenge, we get a much clearer picture of what the problem is (and why we have it), but it gives us so many more tools to use to solve it. Holistic health treats you as a whole person (whole- not a variety of parts). Which means you have different needs for different things going on. The same kind of therapy isn’t going to work for each need. Food, exercise, water, sleep, medication, relationships - these can all effect our mood (positively and inversely).

Self-compassion and compassion for others is sometimes defined as the absence of judgment or loving kindness. Learning how to love ourselves isn’t something most of us are taught. Therapy can be a place to learn about this beautiful internal process. Allowing another to have compassion for you is sometimes easier at first. The therapeutic relationship, when held with care and gentleness, can carry us to self-love if it’s foreign to begin with.

Many of the meditation teachers I follow are steeped in Eastern philosophy. While I provide secular therapy services, if you are interested in learning more about a different perspective on life, Eastern philosophy sometimes provides comfort and understanding to weary Western minds who are seeking deeper meaning and connection to one another. I incorporate mindfulness to explore emotions & perception in the here and now.

Soma, our body, holds our experiences. We soma-tize, or take into our bodies, stress, worry, grief, and traumatic experiences. Employing the body in therapy can be a great teaching tool. Using the body to work through some of your issues nonverbally. It can be powerful to start feeling differently right away in the lovely bodies we call home. Learning to trust yourself, your body, your mind, your truth - can be transformative.

Decades ago, a movement in psychotherapy was concerned with one’s “inner child”. While the term is a little funky today, other theories have picked up where inner child work left off. As we recognize the parts of ourselves that went unnoticed, unfulfilled, and unloved, we can find the parent in our adult selves who can now give that child what they needed back then. This is called reparenting or the “missing experience” in Hakomi.

So many acronyms in counseling psychology! I use a few other theories to approach our work: CBT, ACT, and IFS.

CBT is well known. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a structured, goal-oriented form of psychotherapy that focuses on changing negative thought patterns to improve wellbeing and behavior.