Real Help: Creative.
Integrative.
Embodied.
Offerings
Individual Therapy
Individual therapy is usually done in one hour sessions, though there is an option to do 30, 45, 75, or 90 minutes after the initial session, depending on the work we are doing together. Meetings are currently online, with limited (but hopefully increasing in-person meetings in the near future). The work integrates several approaches and can take many forms– talking, art making, body-based work or a combination of these. Read on for more onn on the types of therapies I do.
Or get in touch now to schedule a free discovery call to see if we are a good fit!
Relational Therapy
I work with couples, poly relationships, families, siblings, and even friends. I see everyone together for the initial meeting then typically meet with each person individual before co-creating a path for the work, In relational therapy the relationship is viewed as "the client." I take the position that life is multi-storied and work to support each member of the relationship in feeling heard and understood. These sessions are typically an hour also, but may benefit from longer meetings, especially initially.
Narrative Therapy
Narrative Therapy (NT) primarily involves talking, though art, writing and embodied exploration can be part of the experience as well. With NT, we get curious about the stories that have defined your life, for better and worse. We look at influential power and structures that may have informed these. Together we work to name problems problem names and "externalize" problems to look at their effects on your and your life, but also your effects on the problems. Through NT, we learn to tell our stories in ways that make us stronger. With me this can be done through art, talking, writing and embodied practices. For more about NT, check out The Dulwich Centre, and The Evanston Family Therapy Center.
Or reach out and let's talk!
Art Therapy
Art Therapy (AT) takes many forms. Process itself can be therapeutic, allowing for expression that might otherwise be difficult. AT can be integrated with Narrative to aid in the process of externalizing problems. I do not interpret your art to tell you what it means. Rather, I support us in getting curious and to explore personal meaning. AT is transformational. As we change the art, we change our experience of the literal and figurative material we are working with. AT is intuitive: playing with materials and responding to what arises through the process of creation. AT can be directive: I give you a prompt that orients you in particular ways to evoke deeper reflection, the creation of preferred meanings, transformation and help!
Somatic Experiencing
Somatic Experiencing® (SE) is a body-based practice that supports holistic healing from adverse experiences. SE slows us down so we can notice what is happening, embodied, and expand our capacity for discomfort in order to support our often-thwarted natural capacity for recovery. SE expands curiosity about experience and skills of self-compassion and self-care. SE can involve or supportive touch by the therapist seated, standing, or on a bodywork table. Hands-on work is done only with your enthusiastic consent, and you are in charge. SE touch work is fully clothed and serves the purpose of helping people to receive the benefit of co-regulation from a skilled practitioner.
Let's get in touch! (LOL, pun...sorry-not-sorry)
Group Work
I will be offering small groups centered around practices like Art Therapy and Somatic Experiencing® or topics such as Tarot, ancestor work or relationships. I will also work with people in dyads, triads or quads using a Narrative Practice called Outsider Witnessing. It can be very beneficial to work with others who share struggles as well as values and purposes. Working in groups has the benefit for creating community as well as being more financially accessible. My group work will not be what is traditionally called "group therapy" rather more like open studios where the work is emergent and rooted in the particular interests and purposes of the participants. These offerings will be dependent on how safe it is to gather and may not be available until the summer.