"In a real sense all life is inter-related. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be. This is the inter-related structure of reality."Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Our Life Lessons

 
     As I reach 60, I fully realize how important knowing and trusting yourself is. There is no living and no healing without trust. All relationships that deeply matter depend on trust.  As I've let myself explore deeply who I am, and as I understand myself better, I live life more fully. I want to help you with this.

     From living as a privileged white person, I've learned how my race and privileges have impacted how I see the world. From identifying as a male who did not want to love other men because of homophobia, I've learned how essential it is to my living fully to love another man because I am meant to love that way.

     Helping you find more trust, understanding and love for yourself and in your relationships is core to the work I do with individuals, couples and families.

     My graduate school education introduced me to many different approaches to healing. I earned my master's degree from the California Institute of Integral Studies   www.ciis.edu 

     Other influences on my work came from special studies in the Hakomi method www.hakomiinstitute.com.  Using Hakomi creates an exquisite level of sensitivity and attunement between the practitioner and client.  What develops is a deeper sense of safety and connection that facilitates the effectiveness of the therapy.

     My approach to working with acute stress, anxiety, PTSD and childhood and adult trauma has been greatly influenced by specialized trainings in Sensorimotor Psychotherapy and Psycho-Physical Therapy. You can find out more about these very balanced, gentle therapeutic approaches by asking me, or by going to www.sensorimotorpsychotherapy.org or www.psychophysicaltherapy.com

     My development as a person has impacted how I do therapy. My personal growth has been very influenced by embodied practices such as yoga, mindfulness, Rosen Method Body Work  www.rosenmethod.org, Jamie McHugh's sensory growth work somaticexpression.com and Authentic Movement www.authenticmovementcommunity.org. Using these embodied practices have greatly aided my transformation as a person and a therapist. You and I can explore how various other therapeutic approaches could expand your journey of transformation.

     For family therapy, I use a brief strategic family therapy approach. This way of working gets to the heart of the issues quickly and effectively www.brief-strategic-family-therapy.com.

My License     

     I'm licensed by the state of California www.bbs.ca.gov to work in the most ethical and effective ways with couples, individuals and families. My California Marriage and Family Therapist license number is MFC 38741. 

    "Therapy is first about discovering. It's about who you are and about what your deepest emotional attitudes are. It's not just about who you think you are. It's not opinion. It's not something you can know with the intellect. It's about who you are in the very heart of yourself."

From www.hakomiinstitute.com