nature allied journeys
Healthier Relationships with Yourself, with Others, and with Life’s Experiences.
Many people believe that seeing a psychotherapist is only for people suffering from a mental illness, so you might be surprised to learn that psychotherapy has a multitude of benefits for everyone. Therapy is not only treating mental health problems. Therapy is about facilitating healing, wellness and growth and can have a huge influence in our personal, relational, and vocational spheres of life, no matter what our circumstances.
Trauma, from the Greek for “wound”, is not what happens to you; it is what happens inside you as a result of what happens to you … It is not the blow on the head, but the concussion I get. That is the good news. If my trauma was that I grew up with an absent parent, for example, that will never not have happened. But if the wound was that I decided as a result that I wasn’t worthwhile as a human being, I wasn’t lovable, that’s a wound that can heal at any time. We all have had some degree of trauma in our lives that led to brilliant adaptations in our behaviour early on, but later on those patterns no longer serve us and we may not realise what we keep perpetuating; trauma comes in many shapes and sizes, and it may not be what you think of as “trauma.” Just a few examples of how trauma shows up are:
-people pleasing
-persistently putting others’ need before our own
-being highly self-critical
-anxiety of all sorts, including social anxiety
-codependency in relationships
-depression
-fear of abandonment
-under-functioning
-over-functioning or perfectionism
-anger issues
-resentment
-burnout
-difficulty trusting others
-hypervigilance
-environmental sensitivities
-dissociation of all degrees and flavours
-substance abuse/numbing
-disordered eating
-self-sabotage
-chronic disease and pain
-intergenerational patterns of abuse
I engage in “depth-oriented” therapy, as opposed to focusing solely on behaviours, thoughts, or solutions. That is, I don’t work from a CBT, DBT, or Solutions Focused approach. I believe that working through the underlying adaptations that keep you feeling stuck has a much higher chance of successfully producing real growth.
Health
Health concerns have an impact not only on our physical wellbeing, but on our psychological wellbeing and can influence our ability to function. You may be experiencing an acute health issue that has impacted your wellbeing. You may be experiencing a chronic illness that has changed the ideas you had for your future.
Speaking to a trained professional can make an enormous difference in how you cope with your current situation and your quality of life.
Patterns
When we find ourselves repeating the same patterns we may begin to doubt our ability to effect change in our lives. Over time, the repeated experience of being unable to break free from these patterns can create or reinforce feelings of helplessness, leading to a downward spiral of resignation and despair. Without avenues for empowerment or support, we may struggle to envision a way out of our situation, further deepening our sense of helplessness. The environment created in therapy session allows for insights into the repeating patterns in our lives and in this way we are able to break free from inertia, regain a sense of our own agency and aliveness.
Loss
life transitions
-
grief
The common thread between life transitions and grief is the experience of loss. Life transitions often involve leaving behind familiar circumstances, roles, or relationships, which can evoke feelings of loss for what was once known or comfortable. Grief involves the emotional response to loss, whether it be the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or any significant change that alters one's sense of normalcy. Both life transitions and grief entail a process of adaptation and adjustment to a new reality, as individuals navigate the emotions, challenges, and changes that accompany loss. In essence, they both involve coming to terms with the end of something familiar and the beginning of something new, requiring individuals to reconcile their past experiences with their present circumstances.
Burnout
Burnout requires a supportive environment in order to explore underlying causes. Therapy empowers one to be clearer on boundaries and self-care, which fosters long-term resilience. Overall, psychotherapy equips one with tools and support to restore balance and promote well-being so that burnout does not happen.
DEPRESSION
-
ANXIETY
Depression often feels like navigating through a dense fog of despair, where even simple tasks seem daunting. Psychotherapy helps by providing a generative space to unravel tangled emotions, work through negative thought patterns, develop a different relationship to oneself and to gradually reclaim a sense of hope and agency in ones life.
Anxiety can feel like an endless cycle of worry and tension, where every decision is clouded by fear. Psychotherapy helps by offering tools to understand and manage anxious thoughts, fostering resilience and relaxation techniques to regain control. Through therapy, one can learn to confront fears, build confidence, and cultivate a sense of calm amidst uncertainty.
“Paradoxically, the more we try to change ourselves, the more we prevent change from occurring.
On the other hand, the more we allow ourselves to fully experience who we are, the greater the possibility of change.”
-Laurence Heller
Begin The Journey Home