Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field.  I'll meet you there.  -- Rumi

Psychotherapy is not easily described in a brief statement.  It varies depending on the personality of both the therapist and the client and the particular issues the client brings to therapy.  My approach to treatment is rooted in psychodynamic theory -- meaning, it is based on the exploration of the unconscious and its influence on the client's feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.  When you find yourself in patterns of behavior or cycles of relating that cause heartache and distress, it often relates to past pain or confusion that has been difficult to make sense of.  My role as your therapist is to provide an environment where you feel safe enough to explore the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that have led you to this page.  

Heartache is not born in a vacuum.  It is conceived and grows in relationship to other people.  It is my belief that heartache is understood and relieved within relationships as well.  This is the goal of therapy.  

Therapy that centers around providing answers will never end because there will always be more questions tomorrow.  Today's culture tends to focus on "diagnosis" and "cure"; whereas, depth psychology focuses on "understanding" and "integration".  Carl Jung, a famous psychoanalyst, once said, "To confront a person with his shadow is to show him his own light. Once one has experienced a few times what it is like to stand judgingly between the opposites, one begins to understand what is meant by the self. Anyone who perceives his shadow and his light simultaneously sees himself from two sides and thus gets in the middle."  As painful and uncomfortable as it can be, befriending the hidden, darker corners of ourselves introduces us to our most authentic, grounded being.  The hope of therapy is for the client to come to know and accept themselves in such a way that there is less anxiety living in one's own skin and greater ease living in relationship to others.  The aim is not perfection but wholeness.  

This type of work takes time.  Short-term behavioral therapy can be helpful to the client and I will draw from these methods when appropriate; however, I have had many clients report that short-term methods never got to the core of what is causing their suffering.  My experience as a client and therapist has taught me that deeper, long-lasting results are more likely to happen in the presence of patience and perseverance.  

My role is to create an atmosphere of openness, curiosity, and trust so that you are able to explore whatever is on your mind without needing to censor your thoughts or feelings.

Each tree grows in two directions at once, into the darkness and out to the light; with as many branches and roots as it needs to embody it's wild desires.      John O'donohue