Individual Psychotherapy

"The universe conspires to support the soul." -- Elinor Dickson

The purpose of psychotherapy is to support and sponsor the unfolding of the person and engage in education, at both the conscious and unconscious levels, in order that the client can gain greater contentment, fulfillment and happiness in life. As a therapist, I utilize various models and approaches to assist in this goal, as suit the client.

My practice involves creating a safe holding place for what emerges from the client, and, in the context of safety and trust, facilitating transformation and healing. A therapist's presence involves listening, mirroring (reflecting back and clarifying), sponsoring, supporting and offering insights and opportunities for healing and integration.

Psychotherapy sessions may include any or all of the following modules:

1. Emotion Focused Therapy

"You know there's more to therapy than eliminating unpleasant emotions. Some unpleasant emotions have a purpose - some are "constructive". When constructive emotions are worked with skillfully, the result is often enormous therapeutic change." Les Greenberg

We carry maladaptive emotion in our bodies in the form of depression, anxiety, or stress.

Emotion focused therapy allows us to listen and pay special attention to our emotion in order to get the important information from our emotions that leads us to understanding our deepest needs. It is only then that we can begtin to do something constructive to meet those needs in our practical lives.

EFT has many techniques that help us process emotion in order to work through pain and struggle to achieve resolution, greater satisfaction and happiness.

See www.yorku.ca/yupc/eftclinic or www.emotionfocusedtherapy.org

2. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR facilitates and allows the brain to process past trauma and unpleasant events that prevent us from living a happier and more content life. It integrates emotion, cognition and body senses to unlock bad memories and de-sensitize us from their negative impact. It is a tried and true method from dealing effectively with little "t" or big "T" traumatic edvents.

3. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT encompasses a variety of techniques that help us to function more practically in our world. It targets both thoughts (that are linked to moods) thus reducing negative feelings as well as targeting behaviours that also contribute to down moods and unproductive living. It is based on the premise that feelings, behaviors, physical sensation and thinking are all inextricably connected and that by affecting one area we can make improvements in the others. Often CBT is referred to as short-term solution focused therapy.

4. Client-centred psychotherapy

"The beauty of the soul lies within the particularity of the personality." -- Roberto Assagioli

Negative life patterns and experiences are, to a large extent, caused by traumas and woundings, whereby the individual experienced a thwarting of the inner self in early development. The personality has been developed as an individual's best means of survival, but distortions within (neuroses) cause further frustrations, unhappiness and difficulty throughout adult life.

Client-based psychotherapy draws upon the client's history, experience, feeings and understandings to assist him or her to gain perceptual reorganization and to integrate the consequent insights into the personality structure. This affords the client effective methods of handling feelings and emotions originating deep within the personality.

Client-based psychotherapy emphasizes depth and is concerned with alleviating and humanizing neurotic conditions. Its aim is to empower the client to live the life they want and need to live a life that more closely reflects the soul.

5. Bio-energetic psychotherapy

"Life makes shape." -- Stanley Kelemann

Bio-energetic psychotherapy, derived from the work of Reich, Lowen, Pierrakos, among others, stresses the importance of a body-mind approach to intrapsychic and interpersonal conflict.

Life makes shape. Body movement and body structure begins at the energetic level. Energy blockages and imbalances are evident through observation of what is happening in the body and by the client feeling or being aware of his or her bodily sensations. The therapist uses non-invasive and nurturing verbal and body therapies to assist healing and growth by encouraging expression and providing support. An understanding of character structures and defense mechanisms underlies all bio-energetic work, making it compatible with client-based psychotherapy.

6. Integral healing (Energy psychology)

"All human experience is a journey towards wholeness." -- Gary Zukav

In integral healing, balancing and healing techniques integrate eastern psychology with western psychology and work, along with other psychotherapeutic modes, to erase negative imprints and remove energy blockages.

The use of subtle energy brings the personality and soul into alignment by balancing matter and spirit.

The central key to psychotherapeutic energy work is that the therapist activates his or her human presence for the client from the therapist's centered self. This "agency in communion" (Ken Wilber), or, organized and directed awareness is at the heart of the matter and can bring the client to the strong base of his or her own center, spiritual immune system, and loving self.

Final Note

My work with any client, and the modules that I will employ, will depend on the desire and comfort level of the client. Sessions may be largely based on one module, rather than on others, or sessions may be mixed or alternated in a holistic way according to the client's need.