My Private Practice
Echoing James Baldwin, even within the deepest darkness, to recognize that inside oneself, there lies a light waiting to be discovered. This is the journey we embark upon together, a return to oneself. Healing can be understood as the process of letting go of everything that does not truly belong to us, so that we can uncover what truly belongs. I see this process as a journey back home.
I see my role as supporting my clients on their journey towards inner clarity, through which their inner wisdom can emerge. I believe ultimate wisdom and understanding always come from within.
Together, we go deeper into the self and identify what is asking to be noticed. We explore how unconscious forces might be influencing conscious functioning and understand what is attempting to make itself known. We uncover potential obstacles and self-defeating patterns that might be blocking one's path and creating self-perpetuating cycles of entanglement and suffering.
In my approach as a psychologist, I aim to combine conceptual and experiential knowledge, emphasizing the importance of balancing rational analysis with experiential understanding. Conceptual or rational understanding explores the "why" and "how" of things by integrating evidence-based psychological theories and intellectual insights. Solely focusing on rational explanations can, at times, detach us from our emotions, thereby hindering our ability to fully process and learn from our experience on a deeper level, and this may prevent healing.
This is where the importance of experiential understanding comes in. Experiential knowing entails releasing fixed ideas and intellectual rationalizations, and embracing the felt sense of our experiences. Experiential knowledge involves the immediate understanding gained through direct sensory experiences that are rooted in our bodies.
When it comes to understanding the psyche, I appreciate the combination of logical reasoning and experiential knowing. Integrating these two approaches, for me, highlights the inseparability of mind-body relationships in our lived experience. Our bodies are not separate entities from our minds but rather integral to how we experience the world. Consciousness is not an isolated mental state but is intimately connected to our bodily experiences.
Given the focus I place on experiential knowing, present-moment awareness is also an active ingredient of my practice, centering on the clients' experience in the here and now. I provide a range of offerings to support my clients to develop a greater capacity to stay fully attentive and aware of their thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations in the present moment. This process often helps my clients identify aspects of their experiences that call for attention, and make more intentional and empowered choices as a result.
I find present moment awareness essential for healing trauma as well. Trauma often hinder our ability to feel fully alive in the present moment, the past continues to influence the present, shaping how we perceive our current experiences. By understanding how we construct our past in the present, I believe, we can gain more control over how much our past continues to affect us in the present.
Furthermore, my practice balances introspection and action. I am a firm believer in the importance of taking responsibility of our lives. Our suffering persists as long as we continue to run from it. Numbing it with distractions, denying it, or pushing it away may provide short-term relief, but the underlying issues often continue to affect our lives and manifest in various forms. In embracing the wisdom of Jack Kerouac's insight that "the only way out is in," I encourage my clients to make a conscious commitment to turn inward to find their path to freedom and healing. I believe that when we accept the reality of our situation and our internal responses without resisting or fighting against them, this non-resistant approach transforms our relationship with our difficult experiences and ultimately allows us to find freedom and peace.
I also wholeheartedly agree with Nietzsche that, "No one can build the bridge on which you, and only you, must cross the river of life." It is up to the individual to take necessary steps and make necessary changes to create their own path forward. Through establishing a supportive environment, my goal is to empower my clients to take ownership of their own journey and move forward at a pace that suits their current needs. I walk alongside them as they construct their own bridges to navigate life's river. We all share the journey of navigating life's complexities, and it is this shared humanity that forms the cornerstone of my practice.
Ultimately, I support my clients in developing a deeper connection with themselves. Through this process, my goal is to help them enrich their relationships with life and others, and to cultivate a sense of interconnectedness with everything. In our work together, my aim is not just to address issues, but also to help you cultivate a deeper, more meaningful connection with life itself. I do not approach life as a series of issues needing solutions but as an ongoing journey to be fully lived. This perspective shapes not only how I live my own life but also my professional approach as a psychologist.