modalities

I specialize in clients seeking healing from the psychological and relational injuries of growing up in a narcissistic family system, middle-age-related challenges and wellbeing (menopause, ‘mid-life crisis’ or, as I prefer to view it, mid-life review), and/or existential crisis which includes those navigating life-altering change, terminal illness, and chronic pain — as well as anxiety about purpose, meaning, society, fate, and more-than-human-life (the environment/climate, fauna and flora). Clients who are well-suited for me are seeking therapy that is welcoming of a body, heart, and spirit approach, what we call in ‘the biz’ a biopsychosocial-spiritual approach.

Sometimes human answers to the big problems are painfully inadequate. I am spiritually and religiously open-minded and open-hearted and can work with your language while also offering invitations to expand mystical contemplation outside confines of any one belief. This is emphasis is solely for the sake of increasing the client’s relationship with sacred pause, healing, and self-love — as well as connection, authenticity, and belonging. Clients I work with are not required to have an established spiritual practice or belief but are wholeheartedly welcoming to receiving spiritually-based therapeutic guidance and ready to cultivate a spiritual practice over time.

In ancient Greek thought, the term psyche referred to the essence of life — often interpreted as the soul, spirit, or breath. The word logos carried various meanings, such as "speech," "reason," or "study." When combined in the context of psychology, they represented a structured exploration of the soul. As intellectual perspectives evolved, especially during the 17th century with philosophers like René Descartes, the mind came to be seen as separate from the body, a view known as dualism. By the 19th century, figures such as William James and Wilhelm Wundt helped transform psychology into a formal scientific discipline and the field began moving away from its philosophical roots toward a more empirical approach. In the early 20th century, John B. Watson and the rise of behaviorism shifted the focus even further, redefining psychology as the study of behavior — prioritizing observable actions over unmeasurable internal thoughts or emotions.

My approach to therapy, in fact in all aspects of my offerings (services), spiritual inquiry is foundational because I believe that increased self-insight and internal resourcing (to that which is vastly more expansive than the very limited and sometimes-arrogant human intellect) leads to a joyful and regenerative increase in wisdom, vision/insight, creativity, innovative thinking, and equanimity.

Additionally, somatic (of the body) inquiry is also foundational in my work, because without embodiment we cannot heal, experience earthly pleasure (the senses), or understand the joy of a deliciously regulated nervous system, especially in community. Many of us are far too familiar with the side of the senses that involves pain and suffering and deficient in knowing how neutral and neutral-positive sensation feels. In my assessment, we have a serious epidemic of dissociation in our society, for many it shows up as mild like “zoning out” or daydreaming and for others it is most obvious in dulled or hyper sensory experiences. We commonly engage in behaviors and activities, aiming to take a much-needed respite, that ultimately facilitates dissociation and/or disembodiment. Gently increasing mindful awareness and present-moment somatic noticing can offer profound relief from the negative consequences of “mindless” behaviors and habits.

My therapeutic approach aims to be holistic and anti-reductionist, incorporating data from the body, heart, mind, and spirit to support self-understanding, self-regulation, and self-healing.

Citations:

• Baird, F. E., & Kaufmann, W. (2008). From Plato to Derrida (2nd ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall.
   → Covers the origins of the term psyche in ancient Greek philosophy and its connection to the soul, spirit, or breath.

• Hatfield, G. (2002). Descartes and the Meditations. Routledge.
   → Provides context on René Descartes’ dualism and the separation of mind and body in 17th-century thought.

• Levine, Peter A. Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma: The Innate Capacity to Transform Overwhelming Experiences. North Atlantic Books, 1997.

• Ogden, Pat, Minton, Kekuni, & Pain, Clare. Trauma and the Body: A Sensorimotor Approach to Psychotherapy. W.W. Norton & Company, 2006.

• Robinson, D. N. (1995). An intellectual history of psychology (3rd ed.). University of Wisconsin Press.
   → Discusses the historical meanings of logos and the evolution of psychology as a study of the mind/soul.

• Rothschild, Babette. The Body Remembers: The Psychophysiology of Trauma and Trauma Treatment. Norton & Company, 2000.

• Schultz, D. P., & Schultz, S. E. (2015). A history of modern psychology (11th ed.). Cengage Learning.
   → Details the contributions of Wilhelm Wundt and William James in establishing psychology as a formal scientific discipline in the 19th century, and the shift from philosophy to empirical science.

• Watson, J. B. (1913). Psychology as the behaviorist views it. Psychological Review, 20(2), 158–177.
   → Seminal paper marking the foundation of behaviorism and redefining psychology as the study of observable behavior.