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To live means life will change—and often, in the moment, this change does not always feel for the better. There is no ‘how-to’ workbook to re-adjust after divorce, separation, loss, set-back, and situational or cumulative life stress—and if that book exists, please, don’t buy it. Why? Because each life story has its own special circumstances and roadmap to recovery. Finding that place of adjustment to life change and stress is actually chiropractic in the sense that it is a re-alignment—the difference being, that under the guidance of therapy, it is a re-alignment takes place within one’s own life.
It seems far too often someone gets labeled as having ‘anxiety’—but how does that help? We all experience anxiety to some level—much of which can actually be helpful. There is a world of difference though in addressing obsessive-compulsive traits, phobias, panic attacks, and social, situational, and generalized anxiety. Recognizing these differences fuels the energy during session work, because no two persons are the same; and so when thoughtful examination of what is making the anxiety and fear ‘tick,’ then each presentation is often very manageable and treatable in the scope of individualized care.
Understanding what is causing depression can be a big first step—be it neurobiology, life circumstances, or both. Mapping these underlying causes, while addressing how to change the current presentation (how is your life being impacted in the here and now) is vital to addressing the issue. Depression only marks a state of being—it is not you—and conditions change…even ones that seem stagnate. There is a plethora of ways for externalizing depression outside of the self, so that its weight can be managed, reduced, and a sense of living from beyond its grasp can be experienced.
Be it the loss of a loved one, work, or a way of living and relating to the world, the reality of grappling with grief and loss touches all livable events. Finding a way to cope can be difficult given the roller coaster of emotions and circumstances these events often bring into focus. However, in helping cultivate intention, awareness, and patience during this process, the less likely grief is to develop into something more challenging to bear. That said, I am especially passionate about the therapeutic work of dealing with traumatic loss and complicated grief, because I’ve seen, that once the weight is lifted, the former pressure has now turned sadness into beauty.
Traumatic events are experienced on both a psychological and physiological level. Knowing this means careful assessment of a person being in a place where exposing oneself to traumatic material is beneficial or not. Despite this, working through the manifestations of trauma symptoms, as they exist in the present, can still be done. My expertise as a Trauma Therapist means that I don’t waver when it comes to the first step of trauma recovery, which is: assessing and meeting a person where they are at in terms of safety and stabilization. Sometimes stabilization is the whole individualized treatment plan, and at other times, what is most required, is empowering a new sense of self and meaning from the pain. Regardless of the trajectory of treatment—be it stabilization tools, a cognitive-behavioral model, etc.—the focus of trauma therapy is not on the trauma, per say, but on the individual finding sanctuary from its effects.
The triad of self—mind, body, spirit—is an experiential way of relating to the world or universe. How each person understands their own triad, however, is different for everyone. For some the experience is religious, others it is Humanism, and still yet, there are those whose experience is best left undefined in a quest for what it means to be alive. Spiritual integration in therapy means consideration of how the ‘whole’ of you is growing and/or being affected by the ‘whole’ of your life. And it also means consideration that there is a higher actualization of consciousness—something bigger than just you. In setting out to become a psychotherapist, I purposefully undertook an educational path that integrated a holistic approach into counseling theory. In order to sit in your belief system though, it means: one, helping me become aware of what it is; two, discovering how these beliefs impact and define your daily life, and then three, sometimes, allowing for a spiritual connection to develop within the therapeutic hour..
Often these presentations have a life-time prevalence, and require wrap-around care within a psychiatric, medical, community, and social support model for ethical practice and best outcomes. Due to this, our work in this area is done via referral from an already established behavioral health care team, and then continues by working closely with the team on behalf of the client. Our service in the community sector has afforded us with ample training and experience in providing supportive counseling for: psychoeducation around the illness, teaching life skills for illness management, a focus for family integration into a client’s care, as well as knowing when various situations require re-direction and/or collaboration with other community supports. Some examples of these presentations are as follows:
There are also certain services not provided at Eastside Insight. A listing of these can be found under the tab "Our Services & Approach."
Using the evidence-based framework of CAMS (Collaborative Assessment & Management of Suicidality), clients receive weekly therapy focusing on the conscious and unconscious drivers of suicidality, weekly treatment planning for addressing the resolution/management of these drivers, as well as in-depth safety and stabilization planning. The very act of seeking help is the biggest difference I’ve found in the outcome of life and death, and there is no lack of reverence for that fact in terms of collaborating, together, a desire to live. Given the acuity of the presentation though, working with a behavioral healthcare team provides the safety-net for therapy to professionally ensue. For those struggling with suicidality, I urge you to reach out to crisis lines, a trusted friend, healthcare organizations, a medical provider, or a hospital Emergency Department, as these are all places and persons that hold the truth—the truth that there is hope.
Open: Monday to Friday (By Appointment)
In-Person Practice Location: 310 3rd Ave NE, Ste. 116, Issaquah, WA 98027 / Business Address: 1400 112th Ave SE, Ste 100, Bellevue, WA 98004
P: 425-245-5981 / F: 425-225-7487
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