A safe place to get into it.
psychotherapy | trauma therapy | EMDR | tarot
Whatever it is that brought you here, this space is meant to hold it. The anger, grief and sadness, and the relief and joy too. We may enter and leave this world alone, but we’re not meant to carry it alone in between. Counseling allows us to witness ourselves as we’re witnessed by another. Something magical happens when we allow ourselves to be fully seen, and in turn accept ourselves as we are. Space opens for change.
Psychotherapy
We often come to therapy when we’re feeling lost and overwhelmed. If that’s you, we’ll do some exploring to understand where you are and how you got there, looking for clues and common threads in how you tell your stories. Even though we know our stories better than anyone, it can be hard to see connections or possibilities when we’re deep in it. The right counselor can help you see the wisdom and power you already have, and that’s the seed of change. Meaning, self-awareness, and feelings of alignment and authenticity often come of this process when you pair it with action outside of sessions.
Trauma Therapy
Trauma isn’t just the thing that happened to us, it’s the ghost of it that haunts our mind and body. It’s what stays when something is too much or too little, too early or for too long. Sometimes we’re able to process distressing experiences as they come. But when experiences overwhelm our ability to cope, our bodies keep them. It’s like part of us splinters off, frozen in time. When we’re reminded of these experiences, we may react in the present as if we’re experiencing the past all over again, because on some level we are.
In trauma therapy we gently unpack and process past experiences that haunt us. This involves having compassion for ourselves and the ways we learned to cope and survive, even and especially when those ways no longer serve us. We carefully untangle past from present so that the past can take its proper place as a memory, rather than a present threat. We rewrite and rewire our stories so that we not only know, but feel we’re capable and worthy of safety, presence, and peace.
EMDR
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a targeted, evidence-based treatment that’s proven effective at alleviating a wide range of symptoms associated with PTSD, panic disorders, anxiety, and depression. Using bilateral (left/right) stimulation, EMDR distracts our conscious mind while also activating our subconscious brain in connection with a disturbing memory or belief.
Though EMDR began in 1989 with bilateral eye movements, we can also use bilateral sounds, tapping, or body movement, whichever feels best. This allows our brain to reprocess and update a target memory or belief in a safe and regulated state, oriented to the present moment rather than a distressing past. Though preparation for EMDR includes discussions to pinpoint which memories and beliefs are causing distress, it doesn’t require discussion of the details.
See what the cards have to say.
Much like fish don’t know they’re in water, we sometimes struggle to see ourselves and situations clearly. We’re too in it. Tarot cards are like mirrors we can hold up to thoughts, feelings, and situations that are difficult to face directly. All that’s required is an openness to seeing things differently, even the things that scare us.
30-Minute Readings
I work with tarot by using the cards as reflective / projective tools, and not to predict the future. It’s a creative and collaborative way to gain clarity and insight surrounding whatever weighs on us. Readings typically last 30 minutes and follow this structure:
Introductions and discussion of your presenting issue
Shuffling and pulling cards
Exploration and interpretation
Extended readings are possible as well, just discuss it with me ahead of time.
Note:
While a tarot reading is not a therapy session, it may feel similarly cathartic and enlightening, or even heavy and challenging. Should your reading bring up material that calls for deeper therapeutic work, I’ll do my best to offer or connect you with services to match your needs.
Feeling ready?
Have questions?
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