My work emerges, on the one hand, from having been the beneficiary of assistance from highly qualified individuals who had the capacity to recognize my need and respond in a highly attuned way. On the other hand, it is informed by spiritual practice that is grounded in the assumption that human potential far exceeds the limitations that are often imposed by societal, familial, and psychological expectations.

The convergence of these two influences, the lived-experience of care and the aspiration to wholeness, has emerged as a vocation. The word “presence” captures what I understand to be the catalyzing influence a practitioner can bring to a facilitative relationship. It is this intention that informs and shapes my practice.

Psychotherapy
Sometimes life can become distressing or confusing. This can include one’s identity, life direction, relationships, vocation, or the residue of traumatic experiences.

I see psychotherapy as a shared inquiry in which we collaboratively make sense of your experience. I assume that people already have the internal resources to orient to their life’s challenges, but that it is sometimes helpful to have support in accessing them. I do not see people as “broken” and I do not see my role as “fixing.” I do understand, though, that sometimes the distress is overwhelming and isolating. At those times, the attention and care of another can relieve suffering and reveal new possibilities.

I believe that durable change emerges from the accumulation of moment-by-moment internal shifts that are grounded in increasing awareness. I bring more than thirty years of experience to my practice, including extensive training in a range of approaches, including humanistic, somatic, and transpersonal, that I draw on to offer a larger perspective and invite meaningful change.

Education
I am interested in education that is transformative. For education to be transformative, it must be practical, not just informational. This can involve the acquisition of skills, the cultivation of optimal states, and the interaction between these. In a professional context, I have taught counseling at the graduate level, supported students training somatic therapy models, and provided consultation. In all of these contexts, I have emphasized that the presence of the practitioner is the key factor in effective facilitation.