In the Office
Note: I am now seeing people in person who have been fully vaccinated. Virtual sessions are also still available. If you intend to come to the office, please check the Covid Safety Questionnaire first.
I see individuals, couples and families who seek to find resolution for a variety of issues. I most frequently assist people with issues
of life transitions; self-identity; aging; addictions; sexual trauma and other trauma; and grief and loss. The first few sessions are spent getting to know one another, gathering history, and deciding together what the goals and expectations will be for therapy.
I enjoy working collaboratively with my clients, in the hopes that this will help each individual tap into their own wisdom and
courage. I find this a powerful way to access new understanding and develop the changes they wish to make.
How our work will proceed varies with the needs of each client and evolves over time. Some tools we may use include mindfulness and other meditative techniques; imaginal nurturing and other guided imagery; EMDR and other trauma techniques based on mind/body integration; internal family systems work; cognitive-behavioral techniques for emotion management; and self-compassion practices. Please see the resource page for more information about these approaches.
A Reflection, June 2020:
“When you are grateful,' Brother Steindl-Rast explained, 'you are not fearful, and when you are not fearful, you are not violent. When you are grateful, you act out of a sense of enough and not out of a sense of scarcity, and you are willing to share. If you are grateful, you are enjoying the differences between people and respectful to all people. The grateful world is a world of joyful people. Grateful people are joyful people. A grateful world is a happy world.” ― Douglas Carlton Abrams, The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
It may seem like a strange time to be seeking to practice gratitude. We have been quarantined in the face of a world -wide pandemic that, as of now, has no end in sight. We have perhaps suffered illness ourselves, or lost loved ones to Covid-19. We have perhaps been adjusting to not being able to work, or working from home, or working from home while we are also trying to care for our children and attend to their online school needs. We have been subjected to news of incompetent and chaotic federal responses to the virus and to more Black lives being lost as a result of police brutality and the national ill of white supremacy. Our nervous systems, our bodies, our brains, our hearts may be maxed out, having to find our way through this very real present day trauma in addition to the traumas of the past that have yet to be resolved. Gratitude may seem impossible and absurd, yet gratitude may be just the thing to help soothe our brain’s overactive threat protection system. As Brother Steindl-Rast so wisely observes, “When you are grateful, you are not fearful…” I find that actually writing out a gratitude list of 5-50 items helps change my perspective and lift my spirits. No matter how difficult the day there is something my heart can find to acknowledge with gratitude. If I do the practice at the end of the day, I pause with each item to see it and feel it again. It leads to a more peaceful sleep and an attitude of possibility. Today I am grateful for the moments of enjoying nature in my own backyard. I can pause and remember the scent of the peonies, the sound of the birds, the playful scampering of the squirrels. I encourage you to make your list daily and to notice how the positive impact of the practice grows over time. Be well.
Blessings,
Anita
May you find your true path.
May you love who you are.
May your light shine.
