I have an integrative approach to psychotherapy meaning that I pull ideas from several schools of thought to inform my work.
My graduate training was in the area of Imaginal Psychology, a form of depth psychology that values the soul, or deep psyche. Although the soul is a driving force for our behavior, we sometimes are unaware of our own deep longings or we suppress them to satisfy a cultural demand. In these cases, we can benefit psychologically from bringing what is unconscious to consciousness. Because the soul is thought to communicate through the imagination, techniques such as art-making, story-telling, role-playing and ritualizing are used in therapy to gain insight into the soul’s yearnings. When we align our life’s activities and relationships with the deep desires of the soul, life becomes more creative and satisfying.
My optimism about our ability to self-heal arises out of Humanistic Psychology. I believe that no matter how self-destructive we sometimes appear to be, there is an internal force within each of us, as in other life forms, that is driving toward wholeness. When the therapist is able to provide a sheltered environment based upon unconditional positive regard, this intrinsic creative life force is activated.
The scaffolding which helps me to structure my work with clients is based upon principals of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. At the heart of this well researched approach is the belief that our cognitions (what we think), our behavior (what we do), our emotions (how we feel) and our physical states (body chemistry and functioning) dynamically influence each other. If we can begin to recognize dysfunctional patterns in any one of these areas, and make positive changes, the other areas are also likely to benefit.
