Other Ways I Can Help

Anger is one of those feelings that many people have a hard time dealing with. Feeling really angry, especially if it happens regularly, can cause you to be critical of yourself, feel ashamed, and even lash out. I help you unpack, understand, and unravel your anger, and encourage the safe expression of intense feelings in a supportive holding environment, and help you cultivate the skills necessary to transform your anger into an ally. I am familiar with the emotion of anger and all the potentially shameful or frightening thoughts and fantasies that can accompany it. I hold a clear vision of the wholeness and goodness of who you are beyond this challenge so that you can move toward healthy and skillful relating to your anger, yourself, and people in your life.  Please inquire about anger management classes.

From time to time, everybody struggles with their feelings of self-worth. Sometimes a lack of confidence is experienced when a person is disconnected from what they are most passionate about in life. Whether you’re going through a bad patch, suffer regularly from low self-esteem, or want to clarify what is closest to your heart, I can help you discover the deep confidence in Being that you need in order to feel confident in doing.

The world is changing quickly, and maybe you’re going through a period when your life is too. If the world or your life doesn’t make sense to you, you’re not alone, and there is a way through to clarity, direction, and empowerment. Perhaps surprisingly, the deepest questions of human existence can be answered not by reading or sitting at the feet of a guru, but by learning a few simple techniques for deep inner listening. I offer an experiential, holistic counseling/educational approach for helping you rediscover the meaning and purpose of your life when “things fall apart”, when life doesn’t make sense the way it used to, or when you feel lost and don’t know who you are anymore.

My approach is holistic, weight-neutral, body-positive and geared toward moving away from food restriction and dieting.  Regardless of gender, most people struggle with some “flavor” of food and body image challenge during their lives.  Informed by the Health at Every Size (HAES) movement and Intuitive Eating, the guidance I offer provides a gentle and compassionate approach that will help you let go of limiting beliefs that keep you locked in unhealthy patterns of thinking and feeling about yourself.  I support you as you learn how to connect to your inherent self-worth and finally, once and for all, cultivate a healthy relationship with your body and with food so that you can direct your cherished life energy toward goals that are meaningful and purposeful.  Note:  I am not qualified to diagnose eating disorders.

Have you experienced a significant loss? Are you finding it hard to talk to people about it? Do you receive messages that you should be hurrying up and getting over your grief? Suffering the loss of someone or something we hold dear is perhaps one of the most difficult things to go through in life, be it a loved one, the loss of a long cherished dream, the end of a relationship, or the destruction of the environment. One of the hardest things about experiencing a significant loss is finding someone and someplace where it feels safe to explore all of the challenging feelings that are emerging. I offer a compassionate, safe space and encourage you to take all the time you need to move through your grief.  There is a way back to enjoying life.

Learning to treat yourself without judgment and criticism can be hard to do on your own, especially when you’ve grown up in a world that teaches you at every turn that there is something wrong with you. Having a counselor who sees your wholeness and recognizes your inherent goodness and worth might be the missing ingredient to getting back into right relationship with yourself and expressing yourself authentically and powerfully from a place of compassionate self-acceptance.

In today’s society, men are expected to be in control and be strong, but also emotionally literate and vulnerable. For these and other reasons, it’s often confusing and harder for men to talk about their struggles. You can be assured of my confidentiality and discretion. A holistic counseling approach considers gender as a factor in our emotional state and happiness and supports your work toward clarifying who you are as a man and what gifts you have to bring to the world.

In the work of dealing with challenges that come up in intimate relationships, we begin by looking at the relationship we have with ourselves.  The support I offer helps you to see how your own dissonant relationship with yourself may be creating problems with your significant other, be they a friend, partner, etc.  More often than not, getting back onto “right relationship” and cultivating a dignified, compassionate, and respectful relationship with yourself is the first step to creating fulfilling relationships with others.

Much pain and suffering come from believing that we are separate from the rest of existence. A holistic, transpersonal approach to psychotherapy can help facilitate the healing of this primary misconception by helping you remove the inner obstacles (limiting beliefs) that are getting in the way of you remembering the Truth of who you are.  In our work together, I help you to shift your perspective from your small self marked by fear and guilt, to your Big Self (aka: Inner Therapist, Higher Self, Buddha Nature, Holy Spirit, etc.), marked by a sense of love, openness, joy, and peace.  This is deep work that will require you to look honestly at yourself, and the payoff is nothing short of miraculous and life-changing.

Most of us feel stressed at times and the pressures of life can certainly cause you to feel overwhelmed and anxious. I help people work through these common and negative impacts on our modern lives: stress, anxiety, panic attacks, and worry.

The emerging burden of climate change (as well as the implications of Peak Oil, resource depletion, Fukushima nuclear crisis, and the fragile economy, to name just a few), has impacts on psychological and emotional health and is becoming prevalent in American culture. Bereavement, depression, and post-event stress disorders are common responses to the severity and magnitude of challenges we face as individuals and as a community. Having someone to talk to about these things can make a big difference in how you feel and how you respond. I have a strong understanding of these matters and welcome you without judgment.

Even the most successful of people sometimes need to talk about their work life. Many people work in jobs that provide little self-expression and are often out of alignment with their values. This can create significant inner conflict, stress and emotional disruptions if not addressed. By guiding a gentle and compassionate “working through” process, I help people who are looking for ways to better manage their work and relationships, and who want to feel more fulfilled.