Welcome to our website. We hope this will become a valuable resource for you.

Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of overcoming it. Helen Keller

The most beautiful stones have been tossed by the winds...

And crushed by the water...

And polished to brilliance by life’s strongest storms.

 What we believe:

Counseling holds a promise for healing and growth. With a caring and skillful therapist, if you commit to the journey, you can find a path to a more affirming life experience.

You may not be aware that a revolution has occurred in the counseling field over the last few decades, informed by neurobiology and attachment research:

• There is a new understanding that there is a limit to the gains you achieve by focusing on your words and behaviors alone.
• There is an appreciation for how the mind, heart and body are joined together and how they can work together—or not.
• There is an emphasis on attuned connection (right brain to right brain) to create the foundation for change.
• There is a focus for partners on emotional bonds, positive feeling states that can and must be nurtured in order to maintain passion and intimacy.

I cannot tell you any spiritual truth that deep within you don’t know already. All I can do is remind you of what you have forgotten. Eckhart Tolle

Science is proving what we have come to believe through our professional and life experiences: Even traits—such as temperament—that are genetically-based can be altered within empathic relationships. We can be different than we are now. Of course, significant change for an individual does not happen without intention and effort. Specific states of mind help to move us—consider mindfulness, emotional attunement, spirituality, or flow.

Couples can transform similarly. When partners are attuned to themselves (have insight) and can step into the shoes of the one they love (develop the capacity for empathy), then they can help each other heal and grow; this makes possible an extraordinary loving and connected relationship that lasts.

What makes night within us may leave stars.  Victor Hugo

The Problem that afflicts us:

When any of us are faced with events that are beyond our ability to cope, when pain is too much, we will split off from our core self—we feel less alive, lack enthusiasm, pull away from moments of potential joy and playfulness. We avoid intimate contact with people around us, while the most primitive workings of our brain create a story that we are incapable, unlovable, or unworthy.

We may even sever connection from our own bodies. And we get physically sick. In despair, we may seek mood-altering activities to give us momentary pleasures—until they do not.

Neurobiologists tell us that our very biology can develop a faulty “neuroception.” Perception is altered by states of fear, panic/grief and rage that trace back to traumatic or adverse experiences. Such altered states can make us blind to new resources; it primes us to be emotionally reactive and/or shuts us down, sabotaging our efforts to heal.

We may present with:

Depression          Moodiness          Anger        Distractibility         Shameful feelings

Hyperactivity          Anxiety           Avoidant behaviors       Hopeless thoughts

Lethargy        Panic attacks         Sleeping problems                Isolation and loneliness

We may be preoccupied by our physical pains, by our daily challenges.

Because all of us tend to believe that whatever seemed “true” in our childhood is a “fact” in our adulthood, it is hard to see new possibilities. An issue can seem permanent, pervasive, and personal. It can seem to be who we are.

However, the best news is that the past need not be our destiny. We are not what happened to us. We can transform and learn to be free.

Explore our website to learn more and contact us when you are ready to make a change.

If you are wondering how to find a therapist who is a right fit for you, we have included some questions you might want to ask.

 

  How_to_find_a_therapist__.pdf (File Size: 39.1 KiB)