I frequently work with clients who identify with one or many of the following descriptors/roles: Creative person, artist, intellectual, activist, sensitive person, cerebral one, emotional one, The Survivor (of historical, developmental, intergenerational or relational trauma), Co-dependent person, neurodivergent one, misfit, spiritual person, truth-seeker, peace-seeker, cycle-breaker, emotional orphan, weirdo, golden child, child/spouse/family member of someone with addiction or a personality disorder.
Themes/Challenges/Concerns I often treat:
Family or origin / attachment wounds
Developmental trauma themes including fortifying healthy self-esteem and healing from toxic shame
Embodiment/mind-body concerns: mitigating dissociative tendencies/patterns, finding and resourcing for safety in the body after trauma, accessing greater capacity for full spectrum emotional experience
Working with/thru/coping with depression, panic, anxiety and other mood disorders
Addiction recovery work including sex and love addiction and alcohol/substance abuse
Creating healthy relationships, disentangling patterns of codependency and/or love addiction
Integrating spirituality in therapy, including working with experiences of spiritual crisis
Somatic/Creative approaches to working within systems that perpetuate injustice
Unmasking and living authentically with neurodivergence
Navigating the journey of complex grief
Supporting life transitions including the major gateways of adolescence to adulthood and adulthood to old age
PROCESS
As each of us presents with different strengths and needs, no two therapeutic arcs are ever quite the same. I take time to understand how each person communicates and what modalities they are drawn to, looking for ways to enliven the therapeutic process. This frequently includes drawing awareness to the senses, and into the body. It often means slowing down.
As a drama therapist, I pay close attention to both the stories you tell and to the way you tell them. In session, we might explore metaphor, symbols, and narrative. I might ask you to embody or enact the experience of another, or move your awareness from the past to to the future. Through this experiential process we can determine what roles or “parts” of yourself emerge within your relationships and self-concept and better understand what parts of you need attention and healing.
When using a somatic lens, we might also bring attention and awareness to your body, observing how your body tells your story. We might utilize interventions such as structured movement, breath work, embodied resourcing, and attuned mindfulness/meditation practices in order to unearth what your body holds.
What is drama therapy?
“Drama therapy is the intentional use of theatre processes to achieve therapeutic goals. Drama therapy is an embodied practice that is active and experiential. This approach can provide the context for participants to tell their stories, set goals and solve problems, express feelings, or achieve catharsis.” - excerpt from the North American Drama Therapy Association website.
What is a psychodynamic approach to therapy?
Psychodynamic therapy is designed to help patients explore the full range of their emotions, including feelings they may not be aware of. By making the unconscious elements of their life a part of their present experience, psychodynamic therapy helps people understand how their behavior and mood are affected by unresolved issues and unconscious feelings.” Psychodynamic therapy grew out of the theories and practices of psychoanalysis, yet takes a less formalized approach. - From WebMD
Why work with the body?
The experiences that have impacted us the most get recorded in our bodies and recorded by our brains at a sub-corticol level, beyond the reach of the conscious mind. By bringing mindful awareness and working with the body to process past memories and traumas, we can resolve stuck-ness and integrate experiences on a level beyond words. I work with subtle body practices culled from the yoga tradition, and am currently finishing certification in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy level 1 for Trauma.