My Approach to Helping
I think of clients in a broader context of the culture and family systems they have been in. Those systems and culture may have been helpful in some ways -- imparting strengths that may support our work toward the client's goals of therapy. But there may have also been some harm caused by those systems or cultures -- think bigotry, racism, heterosexism, church trauma. All of those factors are considered when I work with a client as we explore why that person has decided to seek therapy now. I work in collaboration and believe that therapy moves forward and assists clients in finding new ways to lives their lives. Sometimes that means "getting comfortable with being uncomfortable"! In the past several years, I have dovetailed this approach with EMDR with success in helping many people, as Dr. Shapiro stated, "get past their past."