It may be that when we no longer know what to do
we have come to our real work,
and that when we no longer know which way to go
we have come to our real journey.
~ Wendell Berry
My approach
My approach to working with clients is loving, thoughtful, and compassionately engaged. Women come to me feeling confused, anxious, overwhelmed, and in pain. Heaped on top of this suffering is usually a lot of self-criticalness around feeling deficient or messed up.
I’ve been there so I get how this feels. Out of my own experience I bring kindness, compassion, and a soft curiosity to clients’ experiences, feelings, and self-judgments.
You're unique: I customize our work to you
My approach is personalized because everyone has different needs and ways of learning and healing. I have a extra-large “toolbox” from 30 years of experience and training, such as family of origin work, Jungian counseling, body awareness, spiritual direction, cognitive-behavioral strategies, and life coaching . I use techniques drawn from a wide range of theory and practice, including Eastern and Western spiritual traditions when helpful. Appropriate humor and playfulness are important, too.
My job is not to be the expert on your life. You are! Rather, my job (and my joy) is to help you discover and connect with your own authority, wisdom, intuition, and inner guidance.
Learn skills for navigating transitions with grace and ease
I have no investment in you spending the rest of your sweet life in therapy! So I discern what skills and tools will help you move through your transition with as much ease and grace as possible, and teach them to you. You can put these tools to great use in the future when more big change comes knocking at your door.
Our relationship as a powerful source of healing
Research shows that a critical aspect of successful therapy is the relationship between therapist and client. I take this seriously; my experience is that a trusting relationship is central to your healing.
I am intentional about creating a relationship with you where you can safely share your thoughts and feelings, especially painful, scary, or shame-inducing ones.
Our work together is also a place for you to share and explore your dreams, desires, and hopes. We'll celebrate your successes (woo-hoo!!!!!!), and enjoy laughing together.
If your spiritual life is important to you
Big Change can knock our spiritual lives out of the ballfield.
Cherished ways of connecting to the divine, to what gives your life deepest meaning, often don’t work any more. It’s normal to be pissed off at your Higher Power, and/or feel abandoned by Him/Her/It just when you need Him/Her/It most. All of this is workable, and women find if they work with me around how their spiritual journey is affected by their transition, that it can be once again a source of powerful healing and meaning.
My Clinical Training
- Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy, Seattle Pacific University 1984
- Postgraduate supervision in Jungian depth psychology
- Postgraduate clinical supervision/training in spiritual direction
- Professional training in trauma, dreamwork, mindfulness, and Energy Therapies
- Professional coaching training and certification, Coaches Training Institute, 2004
The true spirit of my work is:
To inspire, love, and support women over 40 in transition to be radiantly alive, courageously and compassionately embracing their one wild and very precious life. My passion and love for doing this work comes from watching women move deeply and joyfully into their authentically soulful lives, freed from former constraints and fears.
Curious about me? Check out my About page. If my approach speaks to you, I invite you to learn more about my services: Psychotherapy .
And if you have any questions or would like to schedule a session, call me 206-427-1325, or email me at [email protected].