Therapy is a process not a one time thing, which means you have to give it some time. I invite you to see it as an investment in yourself because it is. Therapy is highly relational by nature but is different from other relationships that you have. You are collaborating with someone that has expertise in human development, behavior, psychology of trauma and emotions. This makes a big difference when it comes to understanding and working through patterns that hold you back from what you want in life. This form of relationship is also unique because we have full permission to be who we are and express what is hard to share in other forms of relationship.

As a result of engaging in a therapeutic process for some time you will deepen your relationship to yourself and feel resolution or healing around past events that were previously hurting.

You will learn to:

• Identify, process and regulate your emotions better

• Read somatic cues and bodily sensations

• Increase your self-awareness

• Understand more about boundaries (physical, emotional, energetic, and in communication, etc)

• Tend to your emotional needs and learn how to take care of yourself better

• Use effective communication in your relationships

• Develop psychological flexibility which translates into more adaptive identity.

• Connect with your intuition

• Shift your perspective about things and people from a constricted and judgmental stand to a fluid, open and empathetic stand

• Become more adaptive in general

• Find joy in small things

• Bring more of you in your relationships

• Become more resilient and less self-absorbed

In other words, the outcome almost always translates as growth, shedding old patterns and habits that hold you from experiencing your fullest potential. This can bring some discomfort at first, but it is temporary. Eventually you realize that you can experience freedom from that past.

For therapy to work we look into many factors: Therapist expertise, knowledge and ability to work with each individual within their own unique life situation, resources, etc; but also client’s determination to show up and engage in the process. I think consistency, commitment, trust and courage are essential in successful therapy.

At the beginning I encourage you to come weekly for about 3-4 months so there is some momentum in getting to know you and establish a ground for working together. After 4 months, if you are ready we can drop to sessions every other week and this can last for some time (many months, or few years). The end of treatment starts with more spaced out sessions, such as once a month until we decide it’s time to do closure. If you need support after closure due to particular situation, you are always welcome back!

Therapy sessions are very different from other forms of conversation with friends and family. Psychotherapy sessions are primarily based on verbal communication but it goes beyond that. The therapists presence, unconditional positive regard of you, non-judgmental stance and the therapist’s skills and expertise is a big part of why therapy is effective. It might not be obvious to the client how all this comes together but it does. I help you bring your somatic/body awareness to the sessions in different ways with the purpose of helping you connect with the wisdom in your body, energetic system and your own intuition. Thus re-establishing a sense of wholeness, and integration within all parts of you. The use of mindfulness, and other somatic presence practices, contemplations and deep inquiry are tools that help you deepen your awareness of what is really going on for you.

This is a very tricky question. Sometimes the level of suffering is such that we just know we need help and support. Other times we struggle silently and function ok in the world, thinking we don’t need therapy, but we could certainly use some help because we just don’t know how to feel better, or what is really going on. Other times we just want therapy because we want to know what this other form of human connection has to offer, and we feel inclined to have a space in our lives were we can focus on our internal world and understand better what is going on for us. From this place of wanting therapy a lot of things can happen, because you are not struggling intently with addictions or other behaviors, you just want to go deeper within, and you use the therapeutic relationship to do so. Going to therapy is a very personal decision, and a very rewarding one if you give it a chance.

I’d like to invite you to bring your intentions with you to therapy and hold them close throughout our time together. Keep coming back to your intentions and see if you can divorce them from your expectations. Expectations often get in the way of seeing what is unfolding in front of us and are often a big source of suffering and disappointment. I encourage you to stay open to what is revealed to you in the process of inquiring deeply into who you are.

The main difference between a Contemplative Psychotherapist and other therapists is that a Contemplative psychotherapist has training in Buddhist Psychology, and understanding of how to work with different states of mind due to having developed an intimate relationship with their own mind. A Contemplative Psychotherapist believes that all humans have ‘brilliant sanity’ or inherent wisdom and clarity that can be uncovered through consistent meditation practice. In Tibetan Buddhism the mind is not considered separate from the heart, which is open and compassionate in nature. Through commitment to a daily sitting practice, a Contemplative Psychotherapist moves slowly toward an awakening of the heart and is interested in contributing to the wellbeing of others.

You have the right to receive a “Good Faith Estimate” explaining how much your medical and mental health care will cost. Under the law, health care providers need to give clients who don’t have insurance, or who are not using insurance, an estimate of the expected charges for medical services.

You have the right to receive a Good Faith Estimate for the total expected cost of any non-emergency healthcare services, including psychotherapy services. You can ask your health care provider, and any other provider you choose, for a Good Faith Estimate before you schedule a service. If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your Good Faith Estimate, you can dispute the bill. You will receive a copy of your Good Faith Estimate.

For questions or more information about your right to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises.