If someone had told me years ago that elevated emotions like joy and freedom don’t automatically pop up when the tough stuff falls away, I would have told them they were “crazy” – in a kindly sort of way.
Fast forward to what we know now. Oftentimes, the typical “one step forward, two steps back” or what some describe as self-sabotage, are our best attempts at finding a way out of pain and suffering.
So, how can you purposely navigate a path out of this gnarly self-defeating pattern? From my experience, it’s often through a right-fit connection with a therapist.
As I see it, optimal change emerges within the safety of a therapeutic relationship. And here’s what fosters this possibility…it’s the “psychobiological” concept of co-regulation. This process occurs when one person’s autonomic nervous system sensitively interacts with another’s in a way that facilitates greater emotional balance and physical health.
What does this concept mean for your therapy? Absolutely everything…because as you deepen your co-regulation with an attuned other (aka your therapist) you feel safe enough to work though emotional roadblocks like depression, anxiety, relationships problems, and posttraumatic stress.
As the process unfolds, you also come to better appreciate what’s right about you and feel more at ease in an embodied kind of way.
Healing is happening from the inside out…and I am with you every step of the way!
My style of counselling…
Through our work together, I will share a brain-wise approach for promoting mind-body wellness.
By this I mean helping folks learn how to pause and calm the ramped up nervous energies that come along with stress-responses like anxiety and become better at self-regulating. As well, we’ll discover some optimal resources for shifting out of the low motivation/shutdown states that show up with depression.
Even more, the techniques I provide will uncover your nervous system’s resilient feel-good range, so you’ll learn how to “roll with the punches” in life with more mind-body ease and a greater sense of life force energy.
Yet, here’s something to note…because we’re all energetically connected with our environment — which includes people – when a more enlivened you starts showing up, you may notice a wobbly ripple effect in your relations with others.
And this can feel a little scary…so to ease your way…I have some approaches to help smooth the “waves” moving forward:
Body-based strategies such as Somatic Experiencing (SE) and Self-Regulation Therapy (SRT) are helpful in resolving symptoms related to stress and trauma.
These methods work in a gentle way and target the autonomic nervous system, the “motor” that easily propels us into fight, flight, freeze, and defend responses when feeling overwhelmed.
Even more, these charged-up energies can show up through over-or-underreacting to situations without an obvious reason like “losing it” at work when you find a car in your parking spot or staying in a “bad” relationship for way too long.
Through SE and SRT practices, we focus on how the body influences emotions, thoughts, and behaviour. By doing so, you will become more mindful of ever-changing physical sensations and gain the ability to easily shift from dysregulation into a felt sense of okayness and calm.
In tandem, not only does your self-and-body awareness increase, so does your capacity for co-regulation…aka feeling more emotionally present in your connections with others.
I also offer cognitive strategies like Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) which are useful for dialing into how negative thoughts comingle with emotional problems like depression and anxiety. Self-defeating thought patterns also show up in relationship difficulties and uncomfortably influence our day-to-day lives.
As we lean in together, you will learn how to challenge limiting beliefs like “I’m not good enough” or “people can’t be trusted”. In so doing, negative thinking gives way to more affirmative self-talk and mindset-body relief.
Therapies aside, connecting with your deep knowingness is the way through to creating an inspired life where mind, body, and spirit are aligned.
What lies behind us and what lies before us
are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
For a chat about your concerns and intentions moving forward. Contact me