![]() Embodied-nondual psychotherapy
My job as a therapist is not to solve problems, although problems do get solved on their own when presence meets presence during embodied nondual psychotherapy. I see my role as being like that of a concierge in Rumi's guest house (see his poem to the right), welcoming each and every new arrival in the moment during my client's time with me. In addition to the healing power of the empathic resonance in the shared therapeutic encounter, I offer my clients key tools for understanding their experiences outside of the therapy hour. Direct experience is the key to becoming free from outworn conditioned patterns, and feeling the whole body's wisdom from the inside-out is the sure way to have a direct experience beyond conceptual restraints. Learning to develop a felt sense of our experience gives us a way to understand the meaning of any situation, including aspects for which we have no rational access or understanding. In my capacity to sit with and embrace the unknown, free from conclusions, I can offer a field of deep acceptance of life as it is. Focusing-oriented therapy
When I first read Eugene Gendlin's book Focusing in the early 1980's, I was very impressed by its simplicity and depth. I used the tools as best as I could on my own back then, before there were as many opportunities to share and learn in community as there are today. Since then, interest in this valuable process has grown tremendously, and websites such as www.focusingresources.com serve as a veritable clearinghouse for people interested in learning more. Over the years I integrated Focusing tools into my psychotherapy practice, teaching clients to hold their non-judging attention and to listen to their bodies in order access their own internal knowing. Only over the past several years, however, have I truly come to understand the dynamics of Focusing, including how and why it works. Through my study of Gene Gendlin's Process Model, a philosophical masterpiece, I now know how profound and life transforming the method of Focusing really is. |
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all Even if they're a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. ~From the Essential Rumi |
Meeting and being with, rather than "fixing" whatever needs changing, feels almost magical in its impact. Clients learn how to access their own wisdom bodies when they seek guidance for decision- making or understanding their experiences. Although the interpersonal shared space between therapist and client is important to the healing process, it is really the intrapersonal contact, the client's relationship with her/his own inner life that is absolutely required for change to take place.

Dream Work
Dreams are messages from the "other side" and can be interpreted using many different methods: Jungian archetypal explorations, gestalt awareness techniques, lucid dreaming, and experiential approaches. I use these methods when working with a client's dream, but the most important dimension in any of these methods is whether a physical felt sense shift is directly experienced or not. We can know with certainty that we got the message from the dreamworld when we feel the interpretation in our body.
Soma-Spiritual Mentoring
Here at the Awareness Barn or via phone or skype sessions, I offer a supportive container for those on their own spiritual journey. My goal is to help clarify each person's process, thus allowing for a more embodied direct experience beyond but not excluding conceptual beliefs.
Dreams are messages from the "other side" and can be interpreted using many different methods: Jungian archetypal explorations, gestalt awareness techniques, lucid dreaming, and experiential approaches. I use these methods when working with a client's dream, but the most important dimension in any of these methods is whether a physical felt sense shift is directly experienced or not. We can know with certainty that we got the message from the dreamworld when we feel the interpretation in our body.
Soma-Spiritual Mentoring
Here at the Awareness Barn or via phone or skype sessions, I offer a supportive container for those on their own spiritual journey. My goal is to help clarify each person's process, thus allowing for a more embodied direct experience beyond but not excluding conceptual beliefs.