What we do
Whether you are evaluating your life, personally reflecting, defining how to empower your life, processing your growth/insights, hitting a wall, assessing your relationship, reestablishing boundaries, creating new agreements about your life, or making huge decisions…. My job is to introduce you to a pathway that will help you get in touch with your truth, to find clarity...I’ll give you the opportunity and allow you a space to hear your story out loud… We together will devote time together, and I will provide you a place for you to align with your heart, and your true nature… “We often need to hear our story until it doesn’t own us anymore."
Individual
Together we assess and evaluate your overall sense of being - Your overall emotional health, your attitudes/beliefs, behaviors, and spiritual principles. Together, we will connect the dots in all the ways you interact with the world around you. As you are aware, there are internal and external factors and circumstances that often impact us. Often this very pain or confusion can enlighten us, and motivate us to learn our lesson… We together make the necessary changes to break patterns, and find solutions…. You do not need to do this alone! Hearing your “Story” out loud helps us sort things out, and promotes the changes necessary to align with our true spirit.
Couples
Being involved in Relationships is one of the most important aspects of our life! Relationships can give us an opportunity to grow as an individual! When we work together we can process (Both individually and/or as a couple) through the journey and identify what your relationship and the dynamics offer-healthy and/OR unhealthy. Like many aspects of our life, there are many changes, developmental stages, and a change in our life priorities. The awesome part of being in a relationship is, each person and the couple get to define what their relationship looks like, tastes like and feels like. Yes, we all can and do struggle with habitual patterns not only in our lives but within our relationships as well. We all can and do feel stuck at times. We can often feel done with our relationship, but after examination, we can often figure out that we are not quite done, but we are "done the way it is". This is an opportunity to look at our own part after all that is all we can change right? The process of looking at things openly and honestly, voicing our truth, (Rather than shaving parts of our self off or not being authentic), allows for change and growth! Whether it be adjusting, problem-solving, empowering, or ending a relationship-being able to look at it honestly is honorable for both people involved! In fact “being in a relationship is much like adding miracle grow to our character defects, it’s where our own stuff shows up”… It's well worth taking a good honest look at all aspects of our relationship, and to gain skills, in order to empower it, or attain clarity! Both people participate in the dynamics of a relationship, and the solution, it is truly an opportunity for growth, all the way around. Sometimes the healthiest decision we make for ourselves or the relationship, and the hardest decision, is one and the same!
Family
Much like our personal relationships, families have great importance in our lives. As parents, children, or couples we learn, teach, and role model to our family members-all aspects of life. There can come a time that we question our role, our family dynamics, realize that we need clarity, validation, and/or adjustments. Often the habitual patterns, and agreements that we develop stop working for us, and we may need or benefit from assessing our life, and adjusting accordingly. As far as “looking back” at our family system and/or childhood, there can be times of trauma and/or dysfunction. Taking that into consideration, we can develop coping skills that perhaps we carry with us that no longer work for us in our present situation, relationships, and life, especially in our significant relationships. Together we can assess, and work through, learn and grow as a couple and/or individually (Without reliving it and re-traumatizing). We can get many gifts or "nuggets" from our life experiences. As painful as some of these dynamics to find those very "nuggets" and life lessons. Perhaps your coping skills stop working for you? Perhaps your old agreements no longer work? Perhaps you may need to readjust, establish healthy boundaries, and interact authentically within your personal relationships and family system? There's certainly a solution, and a way to walk through the process of change, while maintaining alignment with your very own values, to learn, to grow, and to operate from integrity and a solution-focused perspective is a courageous process. Change Happens!
Recovery
Using, and or addictive behaviors can often be a symptom, that other things are going on in your life. The inability to abstain, or not use, is not an indication that one does not want recovery. Often, and simply not using is not enough, nor does it feel like there is enough of a payoff to stop, or at least it can feel that way!
So what is recovery? Could it be an awakening of the spirit, an alignment with your authentic self, a relationship with your truth and purpose?
Of course one must develop the sober living skills to remain sober, and learn the triggers, and situations that lead us down that path. Using causes “blind spots," blindness to the very essence of true connection with ourselves and the World around us. “There are many paths to the mountain…” Utilizing the existing program
of 12 Step Meetings is one way that works for many, and/or can be essential to begin a process, or continue the process of recovery, for some, but not all… Exclusively approaching recovery in this manner does not always fit or work with everyone… It is also apparent that no-one likes a “cookie cut” approach to solve life’s difficulties, addictions and recovery… We together can awaken your truth! We can look at approaches that are essential for taking a personal stance towards your life and a sustainable recovery.
Groups
Group for many, is a safe environment to process, and share your perspective. Often one can hear things from peers, that perhaps they might not hear, or see otherwise. The group environment cannot only allow a venue to recognize the similarities in and with others and the human condition, but it also can help you realize you are not alone-Group provides a place to process out-load, and can help a person risk and breakout of well established patterns. In the selection process for group, we together decide if group will work for you, and if you are a good fit for the existing focus of group. The groups meet weekly, and are currently offered in the evenings. A commitment to attendance is essential to enhance the trust, and cohesiveness in and with the group members.
Wilderness Therapy
Nature based counseling is a therapeutic approach to address your personal goals and issues-whether it be career choices, relationship issues, relapse or recovery…. There are many approaches within this model of counseling. This may include backpacking, car camping, and/or staying in a cabin or house within or close proximity to the wilderness (We've traveled through The Olympics, Cascades, Washington Coast, Utah National Parks, Havasu Canyon, Sedona, Oregon Coast… to name a few). In either case, whether it be a day hike or multiple days out, Nature is a beautiful teacher! The Natural environment , and wilderness is a place to “unplug” from all the “internal and external noises” that often distract us from our opportunities for growth and/change. For many nature based counseling is extremely adventitious, especially for the experiential learner, and the nature lover. These therapeutic experiences have brought about many sustainable changes…If Nature is in your soul, this approach may be the path for you.