Psychotherapy

Connection, attunement, trust, autonomy and a healthy sexuality are fundamental developmental processes of being human. When any of these dimensions are compromised, we develop compensatory strategies to navigate our experience. While our best efforts initially seem effective, they often become obstacles to living a fulfilling life. What was once a resource becomes a hindrance. Psychotherapy is the process of exploring our survival strategies. It is a collaborative process through which we discover what we do that gets in the way of what we want. It is the skillfulness of the therapist that assists us to discover what we could not see on our own. By being mindful of our thoughts, feelings and bodily responses, we gradually become able to witness our experience without judgment.

Through this witnessing we become less identified with our responses, and a greater range of choices becomes available to us. As we try less and observe more, we become better able to accept ourselves and less stuck in our old patterns. Our clinical faculty has expertise in working with early trauma, chronic pain and illness, depression, anxiety and panic disorders, self-sabotage and creative blocks, grief and loss, substance abuse and recovery, and overcoming the frustrations of everyday life. The seamless integration of the body in the therapeutic process, the emphasis on relationship, and the use of touch in the repair of early developmental challenges make our Center distinctive.

Each of our clinical faculty has a private psychotherapy practice as well as teaches courses. We embrace our clinical work from an embodied relational perspective, yet we all have unique clinical styles. Some of us integrate physical contact as an integral part of our work, while others never touch patients beyond a handshake or a hug. While our approach may differ, we share underlying values such as a belief in the natural intelligence of the organism to move towards health, the essential role of the body in the therapeutic process and the primacy of the relational field during sessions.