My Approach to Helping
My work has been deliberately eclectic. I have worked with youth in treatment foster care, incarcerated individuals, people in recovery, couples in crisis, families in distress, teens finding their way, identity crisisspiritual emergency, Veterans, individuals in hospice, as well as those journeying with deep sadness, suicidal ideation, worry and fear, debilitating grief, extensive trauma, and inner voices. I also work with creatives who feel stuck.
Research consistently shows that the most important common factor in positive client outcomes is the quality of the therapist-client relationship. So, I invite you to explore my website: michaelandrewbrennan.com. I will only commit to working with you if I determine that I can help you achieve your goals. Your time, money, and energy is valuable.
I’m committed to the art of living, and to living what the ancient philosophers call 'the good life'. I believe we all have the capacity to live 'the good life' - a dynamic, integrous, meaningful life. My goal as a therapist is to help individuals locate, cultivate, then fully live their personal meaning.
Meaning can be found in both joy and suffering. I practice holding a perspective that allows me to accept and appreciate what is—all of it—without judgement. I’m learning to embrace what Ram Dass calls the horrible beauty—that is, the horror and beauty in all of life.
My work as a therapist consistently brings me face to face with undeniable pain and suffering. Equally undeniable is the absolute beauty that I’m witness to on a regular basis. To ignore the suffering is negligence, and to disregard the beauty is reckless. We can connect with our suffering to make positive change.
On with the good life …