COUNSELING - EDUCATION - SUPERVISION

Integrative Holistic Therapies 

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Sometimes referred to as alternative therapies, holistic therapy presents an approach to healing and easing life’s problems by increasing one’s resilience through personal beliefs and values. It incorporates the fundamental principles of traditional psychotherapy and holistic therapies to promote healing on all levels: emotional physical, mental and spiritual. Integrative psychotherapy aims to create a healthy alliance between mind, body, and spirit to enable patients to manage stress and create a healthy lifestyle. In addition to counseling services, some of the tools available include meditation and visual imagery.

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What types of holistic therapy are available to me?

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BRAIN BALANCE - 

Your brain has two hemispheres, left & right.  The Left brain thinks more sequential, linear, logical, practical, mathematical, analytical, scientific, and time-oriented.  The Right brain thinks more non-linear, intuitive, abstract, big-picture focused, creative, and space-oriented. Mindfulness works to balance both hemispheres of the brain, forcing them to work in harmony. Scientists call this "whole brain synchronization" and when achieved, your brain experiences extremely beneficial changes in hemispheric blood flow and chemistry.  You may be asked to pay attention to your breating pace, flooding of emotions, or sensory experiences (your 5 senses).  You will learn to regulate, or balance your emotional state by using simple coping skills like counting backwards from 100 by 3's or use relaxed breathing to calm, rest and digest to reduces anxiety, stress, and emotional dysregulation.

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MANDALAS -  Sensory experiences can be most helpful in reducing anxiety in the moment.  The very nature of creating a mandala is therapeutic and symbolic.  Mandalas are everywhere. They are the structures of our cells, our world, and our universe.  Flowers, the rings found in tree trunks and the spiraling outward and inward of a snail’s shell all reflect the primal mandala pattern. Wherever a center is found radiating outward and inward, there is wholeness–a mandala.  The shapes and colors you create in your mandala will reflect your inner self at the time of creation. Your instinct and feeling should inspire and guide you through the process of creation. Ultimately, you will be creating a portrait of yourself as you are when creating the mandala. So, whatever you are feeling at that time, whatever emotions are coming through, will be represented in your mandala creation.  

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SANDTRAY THERAPY -  Sandplay therapy is a nonverbal, therapeutic intervention that makes use of a sandbox, toy figures, and sometimes water, to create scenes of miniature worlds that reflect a person’s inner thoughts, struggles, and concerns. This form of play therapy is practiced along with talk therapy, using the sandbox and figures as communication tools.  This is used by children as well as adults especially when processing trauma.

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DREAMWORK -  Carl Jung, a founding father of psychotherapy, saw dreams as the psyche’s attempt to communicate important things to the individual, and he valued them highly, perhaps above all else, as a way of knowing what was really going on. Dreams are also an important part of the development of the personality – a process that he called individuation.  In therapy, we  look at how dreams can give us information that relates to ongoing problems in life.  You may be asked to create a dream journal or roleplay the characters in your dreams.  You may explore lucid dreaming and how to contol your actions in your dreams.  Working with the unconscious mind can provide clarity and creativity for solving life's problems.

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VISION BOARDS - Vision boards allow you to visualize how you want to see your life a year from now or even five to ten years from now.  With a vision of your intended future, you may begin to create your path toward those goals.

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ARCHETYPES & PERSONALITIES - Each person is born with a personality that is enhanced by life experiences and learned values.  Alfred Adler believed we develop our worldview around the age of 10.  Archetypes and personality traits are explored in sessions seeking to learn more about our light and shadow sides, strengths and weaknesses, and personal values.  You may choose to work with archetype cards or complete a personality assessment to explore your personality traits and how they fit in with your lifestyle and future goals.

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FAITH, RELIGION, AND SPIRITUALITY - We all have personal beliefs, cultural beliefs, and traditional beliefs regarding spirituality.  These beliefs are built on faith, experience, and intuitiveness.  Many of us have connections with a higher power and/or spiritual energy.  To some this can be God, Jesus, Buddha, angels, spirit guides or another higher power in the Universe.  I believe our spirit within us is connected to something greater than ourselves and that our spirits live on after death.  I enjoy working with clients in creating an atmosphere in counseling where your beliefs (not mine) are honored and explored.  This aspect is essential to mental wellness and can bring about a fuller healing and guidance toward treatment goals.  You may choose to work with angel affirmation cards, prayerful meditation, or talk about spiritual experiences or challenges in your life.  My office, counseling practice and personal spiritual beliefs only allow the presence of light and love.

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