“Failure or things not working out as you’d hoped doesn’t feel good; that’s for sure…maybe instead of doing the habitual thing of labeling yourself a ‘failure’ or…thinking there is something wrong with you, you could get curious about what is going on.” ~ Pema Chödrön

 

So many of us were not taught how to get curious about our behaviors and emotions, especially when it comes to relationships with ourselves and with other humans. I believe that we can grow and change when we reach a point of noticing that what we’ve been doing isn’t working for us anymore, and are open to trying out new ways of being.

 

Want to explore your communication patterns? Emotional reactions? Personal identity? Want to address conflict in or enhance your relationship? Have you wondered whether a mindfulness practice could be helpful? Are you interested in how your past might be showing up today? I’d love to explore these and other experiences with you!

 

My practice is guided by theories about attachment and the early life caregiving you experienced. The therapeutic approaches I use work with our right brain hemisphere—the feeling, creative, imaginative part of our brain that lets us access the subconscious. Some of these include psychomotor therapy (the Pesso Boydan System Psychomotor, addressed in chapter 18 of The Body Keeps The Score), Internal Family Systems, Emotionally Focused Therapy, various play approaches, and yoga (breathwork, meditation, and postures when appropriate).

 

With an educational background in the natural sciences and a prior career in nursing, I often bring in connections between our experiences inside and outside of therapy and what is happening in our brains and bodies. Likewise, my background in public health and social justice leads me to see what we are experiencing at the family, intergenerational, and societal levels—both now and back then.

 

Specific areas we could explore together include adoption and foster care, family separation/reunion, grief, racialized and/or LGBTQIA+ identity realization, interracial and intercultural relationships, ethical nonmonogamy, and sexual issues. Together, I hope we can find your true Self, who experiences satisfaction, pleasure, meaning, and connectedness!