My Therapeutic Approach
Become empowered to seek the potential your True Self has always yearned for.
My Therapeutic Approach
I believe psychotherapy is all about gaining awareness. You’ve no doubt heard the first part of Nathaniel Branden’s phrase, “The first step toward change is awareness.” Despite how cliché the adage may sound, how is growth sparked if not by change?
Gaining awareness of your inner world and its impact on your outward experiences is a deeply unique and personal journey. Though my purpose is to guide and support you on your journey of personal growth, the path you take is ultimately yours.
My approach to psychotherapy is centered around you being the expert of your own life. The experiences you bring to therapy sessions will be the lenses through which we explore and raise awareness of your thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and unmet childhood needs.
As your awareness expands, you'll find that the many childhood masks you've used to keep safe aren't necessary anymore; you'll be increasingly met with opportunities to make the adult choices of your True Self. You’ll become empowered to live your authentic life and seek your own purpose.
What Might Healing Look Like?
Emerging from a narcissistic family can contribute to a confusing cocktail of emotions. You may experience joy and excitement at the prospect of independence, while also feeling isolated and blamed due to that very reach toward independence. Because of this, the healing process can be complex.
But healing is possible!
Again, everyone’s path toward healing and growth is unique, which is why the length and course of treatment is different for everyone; however, in my experience I’ve found that there are a few key aspects that promote effective results for clients.
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Putting our relationship at the forefront of treatment. Both at the onset and throughout treatment, it’s vital for us to maintain a healthy therapeutic relationship based on trust, honesty, and authenticity. Discussing painful experiences is difficult, and I deeply value being able to foster an environment where you can feel comfortable and safe to do so.
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Understanding your narcissistic family system. What we don’t know scares us. Therefore, education is an important foundation when venturing into the unknown. Toward the beginning of therapy a lot of our time will be spent talking about what narcissism and narcissistic family systems are, especially as they relate to you. You’ll be better able to recognize the impact that narcissistic parenting has had in your own life.
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Shifting the focus from the narcissist's harm to your growth. In the vast majority of circumstances, it’s an exercise in futility to spend energy trying to change someone who doesn’t believe there’s a problem. After gaining an understanding of your own narcissistic family and the impact it’s had on you, we then shift to focusing on how you can take charge of your own life.
When you’ve appropriately grieved for your childhood and are able to look toward your future, you’ll be able to truly understand the potential that your True Self holds.
What's it Like to Work With Me?
Clients and clinical supervisors have described me as warm, caring, and compassionate. They’ve stated that I provide a calm atmosphere in sessions.
I would describe myself as reflective, validating, and lighthearted. I believe in the therapeutic power of humor and sarcasm, and you may be surprised to hear that I wholeheartedly welcome cursing in sessions.
All together, what you might be able to expect from working with me is a sense of being seen and feeling heard. We’ll do the work I described above, but we’ll do it with you at the center of it, as an active participant. You’ll lead the way and we’ll go at a pace that feels right for you.
What’s important is that it’s your journey to embark on – I’ll be your witness, your guide, and your support, though ultimately I trust in my clients to take ownership of their therapy.
This could look like practicing discussed concepts in your everyday life, reading, journaling, meditating, etc., outside of session, all with the intention of increasing awareness.
