“Your mind is a reservoir of potential; your heart an ocean of strength; your soul a well of talents; and your body a vessel of power.” – Matshona Dhliwayo
As a therapist, I will be fully present and engaged, listening and responding to you in a curious, nonjudgmental manner. I will create an environment that enables you to feel safe, so that you may develop trust and can feel heard and seen. I will help you discover your unique strengths, and express yourself in authentic ways on your path to who you want to become.
I consider myself a therapist who integrates mind, body, spirit approaches. These include: mindfulness, somatic approaches, parts work, yoga, and EMDR.
Somatic approaches, mindfulness and yoga will assist you in deepening your connection to your body so that you can sense and understand the various sensations that the body experiences in different situations, as well as help you to be curious about these experiences so you can be with any sensations, emotions, or thoughts without judgment or without becoming overwhelmed by them. Somatic approaches, yoga, and mindfulness also assist you in resourcing, grounding, regulating your nervous system, and increasing your window of tolerance so you experience feelings of being grounded, calm, and capable while also being with emotions, sensations and thoughts without judgment or feeling of overwhelm. This enables you to step into your authentic self with more agency so you are less reactive. I can help you to develop self care routines that support your well being. Yoga, mindfulness, and parts work will assist you in understanding the different parts of yourself that hold various coping skills and beliefs about self and the world that affect how you interact with yourself and others. These approaches not only deepen your understanding of yourself, but they will also assist you in understanding the impact of your childhood experiences and how this led to the coping skills you utilize. This will give you more agency to be less reactive and have more agency to choose how you respond to yourself, others, and life stressors. EMDR, mindfulness, and yoga assists you in processing traumatic experiences so they are less distressing. The goal of these approaches is to help you feel balanced, whole, so you have greater understanding about how you engage in the world. By delving into the deeper elements of your mind, body, and spirit you will find acceptance and self-love for who you are. You will feel more satisfied with your life and your relationships will improve. You will also have a more trauma informed lens when interacting with others so you can have compassion for where they are on their journey.
Types of Issues Treated
- Anxiety, managing life stresses
- Individuals seeking to develop self care routines
- Individuals seeking tools for self-awareness
- Individuals seeking tools for self compassion
- Individuals seeking tools for somatic body awareness
- Individuals seeking to better understand themselves
- Individuals seeking to process trauma memories or negative beliefs about self with EMDR
Treatment Tools
- EMDR for trauma processing
- EMDR intensive sessions (half or full day of EMDR trauma processing)
- Journaling
- Meditation
- Mindfulness tools for stress reduction, self awareness, body awareness
- Self compassion practices
- Somatic practices/Body oriented therapy
- Yoga practices (breath work, meditation, chanting, physical practice)
To schedule an appointment or to learn more about my services, please email allison@blossomingheartcounseling.com or 503-880-7190