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 to increase self-resourcefulness. This emphasis is solely for the sake of increasing the client’s relationship with the sacred pause (intentional and conscious rest), 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. I will not be a match for clients who are skeptical of wisdom beyond the human intellect or who are seeking to be convinced.

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.

Spiritual inquiry is foundational in my approach to healing 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 and ego) leads to a joyful and regenerative increase in wisdom, vision/insight, creativity, innovative thinking, and equanimity. I believe, wholeheartedly, that we cannot heal holistically if we are avoiding or ignoring the body, the heart (emotions, needs, relationships), or the psyche (spirit). Our well-being at any given moment is determined by the degree to which we are experiencing balance in body, heart, and spirit. ‘The mind,’ I believe, is the sum of these parts.

Somatic (of the body) inquiry is also foundational in my work, because without embodiment we cannot experience earthly pleasure (the senses), understand the joy of a deliciously regulated nervous system, especially in community, or actually experience life. The body exists in the liminal space between worlds and many people experience a confusing relationship with the body either due to the world having been/being somatically harsh. Most westerners do not have a ‘relationship’ with their body, but rather use and misuse their bodies in an effort to mitigate emotional and psychological distress. Many are looking to the body to feel like a carnival, failing to recognize it as also a sanctuary.

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 and disembodiment in western 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. As we begin to have a relationship with our body, our spirit, and our heart we also begin to feel core needs, such as belonging, validation, compassion, joy, and play being met.