Blog

The smoothest path is not always the most productive one for reaching your goals. Whether it is climbing a mountain or bringing about fundamental change in the way we live our life the rockier path can be the less stressful one. While climbing a steep and damp mountain trail this week we noticed the path diverging and coming together further on. One of the paths was smooth. The other was rocky and rooted. We found the rougher trail with rocks and roots provided much better footing than the smooth one. The natural steps they created made footing much more secure. The same can be true for bringing about change in our lives. Going along with what appears the easier and normal habits we live by in our personal lives and in relationships can be frustrating and unrewarding. Having to take the rougher path may be necessary in order to find secure footing for change and long term growth. I know that when someone takes the step to initiate the therapeutic process they are choosing the rougher path.

There are two methods for brining about change. The first is creating tools to manage symptoms. This includes such things as learning relaxation techniques, visualization, creating a safe place, a container to help manage thoughts, and developing a support network, etc. This is necessary in the initial work that is done in therapy. The second method is processing the past to bring about a different perception of the self and your environment. It is possible to process the past cognitively, however it is a very slow method, and I have never known it to be completely effective. I agree with much of current theory that trauma is held in the body as well as in the brain and has a tremendous impact on emotions. By connecting the cognitive process with the bodies memory of trauma and the emotional response one has to the environment it is much easier to bring about effective long term change. This can be done with somatic work, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), and other methods. I have experienced success using the creative process with exercises like creating a path from where one is to the identified goals as a tool that is often useful in initiating change and in maintaining direction. When processing past memories and the responses associated with them, long term change can occur that fundamentally changes ones relationship with the self and the world around us.

Change can not take place unless one has an idea or image of what that change should look like once complete. That is why one of the first steps in working with clients, and one of the most important, needs to be setting goals. The original goals will be refined and expanded to establish the ongoing change that takes place once one is on the path to change. It is the process of change which is important, and not reaching the goal. I have found that once the original goal a client came into therapy with has been met they will often terminate. This is particularly true with anxiety. Once anxiety has been significantly reduced a client will feel so much better they recognize they can carry on by themselves. However, after several months it is common for the client to return to deal with the much lower baseline of anxiety to further reduce or eliminate it. Life is a path of changing goals and refinement of our goals whether it relates to professional, social, spiritual or developmental growth. Our priorities change, as well as the goals we set.

The first session is an assessment to determine behaviors, beliefs, and emotional status that effect how one interacts with their environment. This will include significant history taking, identifying support networks, resources, and your physical and emotional response to those around you. We will begin to discuss goals and the therapeutic process.
Following sessions will further identify historically significant events in ones life, whether one has a support network, and focus on what the goal of therapy is that motivated you to initiate the therapy. Once goals have been established we will work to develop tools to cope with distress in your life and to contain your response to those events that are disruptive. We then begin to process those experiences that trigger emotional, physical and cognitive responses that bring about distress, with the goal of allowing one to be comfortable in one’s mind and body.
I use Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Ego State Therapy (EST), visualization, mindfulness techniques, dream work and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in my practice, along with other training I have received in such disciplines as hypnosis and neurofeedback to fit the needs of the individual.