Gestalt Therapy

I focus on the here and now, understanding the past exists, but not allowing the to define your future.

It can help you increase your awareness of what you are experiencing (psychically and emotionally) in each moment.

Gestalt is a way of understanding human experience and the process of change. According to Gestalt, change only happens when we accept ourselves exactly as we are. By paying close attention to the present moment, we discover both new and familiar aspects of ourselves and unlock new possibilities for choice and growth. I receive ongoing training through Gestalt Therapy Training Center Northwest, as well as regular individual supervision and consultation.

I love Gestalt therapy because I do people that people are more than the sum of their parts. I like how it can help increase awareness of the present moment, and I use a lot of parts work to explore sides of the client that may be less frequently visible. I also use some Internal Family System ideas that are based on Gestalt parts work to help clients be in deeper relationship with themselves and their inner motivations.

I recently completed a 3 year certification program in Gestalt therapy. Gestalt therapy is a client-centered approach to psychotherapy that helps clients focus on the present and understand what is really happening in their lives right now, rather than what they may perceive to be happening based on past experience.

We use chairs and parts work to help sub-divide your inner parts so that more self-reflection and integration can take place.

I am a graduate of the Gestalt Institute of New England. I have four years of postgraduate training in Gestalt psychotherapy.

Gestalt Therapy is a counseling approach from Germany which centers around "emotional catharsis" and directing clients toward more authentic ways of being in the present moment. I love this approach because it is really great at surfacing blockages in a way that pushes clients to work through them. Without the focus on the "here and now," therapy can get lost in distant, hypothetical conversation that doesn't create the desired change brought people to therapy in the first place.

With extensive training and years of experience, I specialize in this holistic approach that emphasizes personal responsibility and awareness in the present moment. My expertise lies in guiding clients to fully experience their thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations, facilitating self-discovery and growth. Through innovative techniques personalized for the individual, I help clients resolve unfinished business and realize their full potential, creating meaningful and transformative change.

I am a Certified Gestalt Therapist and trained at the Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy 4 year Clinical Fellowship Program.

Gestalt therapy is oriented around building awareness: of ourselves, of our thoughts & behaviors, of our choices, and of our physical systems that are constantly sending us invaluable data about our experiences. Through the gestalt process, clients learn to become more aware of how their own negative thought patterns and behaviors are blocking true self-awareness.

Sometimes just talking about a problem doesn't quite get the job done. By engaging in "safe experiments" in session, Gestalt therapy helps us to release ourselves from the bondage of old emotional wounds.

“Gestalt therapy is about helping people become aware of what they do and how they do it, and to encourage living in the present, to ‘be here now,’ and make better choices.” – Violet Oaklander. In Gestalt therapy, I use talk or play to help you or your child experience, explore, and process thoughts, feelings and sensations to bring greater awareness, self-understanding and empowerment. I am not an ‘expert’ but a partner on your journey, in the process with you every step of the way.

I trained in Gestalt therapy at the Church Street Integral Counseling Center in San Francisco, with Gieve Patel and Debbie Stone. This approach incorporates mindfulness of one's own moment-to-moment experience with a belief in the individual's ability to act out of this awareness of self.

With this approach, we will work together to focus on your experience in the present moment.

Working with the body and the different parts within yourself are very powerful and effective ways to gain deeper insight into what is going on with us.