Asheville, NC
A Path Forward
Who My Clients Are
My practice is focused on helping driven, hard-working professionals. Many of my clients consider themselves “perfectionists” or “workaholics,” try to do everything right, and are self-critical when they don’t.
What My Clients Are Dealing With
Living under constant pressure is hard on our bodies, minds, and relationships.
Physically, chronic stress shows up as sleep problems, fatigue, chronic muscle tension (often leading to headaches), high blood pressure, and gastrointestinal problems like acid reflux and irritable bowels.
Mentally, we might experience trouble concentrating or procrastinate because we are afraid of making mistakes. (Performance concerns at work sometimes alert us to a problem before we really know what’s going on.) We might feel irritable, anxious or depressed, or even unaware of our emotions. We might turn to alcohol or marijuana to “calm down” at the end of a day, or use stimulants to keep our energy level up.
Many of my clients feel overextended (like they can’t do enough), or dissatisfied with their lives despite working as hard as they can to make things better. They frequently struggle in relationships due to feeling heavy, burdened, or emotionally unavailable.
What My Clients Often Hope For
Some common goals clients work on in my practice are:
· Being more able to relax when not working, relax in healthier ways, and worry less
· Being more satisfied with their accomplishments, and find meaning in their work
· Improve their relationships, and better balance work and relationships
· Feel better physically
What to Expect in Therapy
As my client, you will learn how (or improve your ability) to focus on the present moment. This is a faster and more effective way of making progress than “talking about” what is wrong in your life. You will collaborate with me to find resolutions that are rooted in your body’s wisdom. You and I will set goals and work toward them, but also take “excursions” into places you might not have expected to go.
I do not judge my clients because this only causes more suffering. I will lead you into new experiences, but never force you. I will offer education if it is appropriate, but I do not give advice. I may interrupt you in order to direct your attention, but I will first listen deeply. I will encourage mindful “experiments” that yield new information about where you are stuck, how you got stuck, and how you can get unstuck.
What You Can Expect to Happen
When my clients do somatically grounded psychotherapy, they usually become more relaxed and emotionally open, feel better physically, sleep better, find healthier ways of managing their stress, deal better with their emotions without getting overwhelmed, and perform better with less “effortfulness.”
What is a “Good Fit” and Why Does it Matter?
Your money and time are valuable to you, and your willingness to work on yourself is valuable to me. I practice therapy with a specific style that is effective for my clients, but it is one of many approaches. I chose this style because it is sensitive to the impact that early life experience and trauma have on our adult problems, and I have found this leads to the deepest and most lasting changes.
At the outset, I ask my clients to commit to therapy long enough to learn if we are a good fit. If we are a good fit, I will ask you to commit to therapy long enough that you are truly satisfied with the outcome.