Most of us are simply trying to do the best we can with the tools we have available.
While learning, healing, and growing can be difficult even in the best circumstances, we can make the process easier by understanding our wants and needs and developing the skills to help us better express and meet them. When we begin to understand ourselves and our ways of thinking and acting as a part of a larger whole, we can begin to improve the quality of our lives and relationships, especially our relationship to the self.
I’m convinced we all have the potential to lead a life that brings us joy and satisfaction. I believe we already have an inner strength that allows us to change and grow. To bring that strength to its rightful place in our lives, it’s important that we reflect on all of the parts that make us who we are, including the parts that we may work hard to hide from ourselves and others, the parts that feel ashamed, unlovable, or like a failure.
A therapeutic relationship based on trust, honesty, and non-judgement can help us feel safe enough to explore these parts of ourselves, to lean into getting to know them with curiosity and compassion. As we begin to understand, accept, and even love these parts, we often realize that they have a rich history, learning behaviors and emotional patterns that have served a function at some point in our lives, even if that’s no longer the case. As such, we should honor these parts for bringing us here while relieving them of their roles and finding new ways of being.
Throughout this process, we may experience a strong sensation of grief and relief, and it is exactly this experience that offers us the freedom to be our authentic selves.
My Approach
I see the therapeutic process as a collaborative process between the therapist and the client that cannot take a one-size-fits-all approach, as each client brings a unique experience and set of wants and needs to therapy.
As the basis for my therapeutic work, I utilize a humanistic, existential framework, which centers the individual and their relationships, rather than their symptoms. I take a non-pathologizing approach because I believe we all have the potential and inner strength to change, heal, and grow, no matter how adverse the circumstances that brought us here.
I also find there is value in exploring the mind-body connection as a way of deepening the therapeutic experience. There is often a lot of useful information stored in the body; Utilizing different forms of mindfulness and attending to our somatic experience can prove as tools for identifying, understanding, and managing behaviors and emotional patterns.
Additionally, I recognize that there are generational, environmental, political, social, and cultural factors that impact our day-to-day lives and decisions. In our society, we are confronted with stress, frustration, struggle, and at times, feelings of despair. I believe it’s necessary to consider these factors when learning about my clients and their experiences and encourage my clients to express their thoughts, views, and feelings about both their internal and external experiences.
The Conscious Process: Existential Therapy 