We believe that, regardless of their situation, people always have a degree of freedom and choice in creating the life they want. We can lose sight of that freedom and come to feel "stuck" with choices we don't like and don't want to repeat. It can be hard to envision an acceptable future and see a way forward.

The goal of our work together is likely to be some sort of change, and we believe that deep lasting change must occur at the "gut" level. We’ll work together to recognize barriers to change, and to understand and accept responsibility for past choices. We’ll explore together the possibility of freedom to make new, different choices (and take responsibility for those choices as well). We’ll experiment with new choices in the here and now. As deep shifts and changes in behavior occur, we’ll work to understand the implications of change, and to integrate your new choices into your life in the world.

Our work tends to be experimental and playful. We encourage you to try experimenting with new behaviors and ways of being in the here and now. It may also involve looking at the past, especially when it seems that the past is significantly impacting the present.

In our work with you, we concurrently pay attention to bodily experience, emotion and feelings, language, and questions of meaning making. That means we pay very close attention to posture and gesture, the feelings you’re experiencing, the words you use, and the specific meaning you make of events and situations.

Much of the healing and change that can occur in therapy can flow from the therapeutic relationship between client and therapist. Your relationship with your therapist is a critical component of success in therapy. We pay special attention to that relationship, and the possibilities for discovery and change that may emerge from it.

We seldom talk about theory, we prefer to “do” rather than “talk about.” That said, it’s important to say something about our underlying theoretical orientation. We have similar theoretical orientations - Existential, Gestalt, Psychodynamic, Rogerian, Somatic. Our work is heavily influenced by our training in "Applied Existential Psychotherapy" (AEP), an integrated approach developed by Dr. Betty Cannon over the past 35 years. AEP is “a synthesis of existential and (classical and contemporary) psychoanalytic insights with interventions drawn from Gestalt therapy, body-oriented psychotherapy, and other experiential approaches.” (1)

If you’d like to learn more about how our approach might or might not be useful for you, let’s schedule a meeting and talk about the possibilities. We look forward to hearing from you!

(1) Cannon, B. (2015). In the spirit of play: Applied Existential Psychotherapy. International Journal of Psychotherapy, Vol. 19, pp. 58-64.