My approach to psychotherapy

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Life is neither easy nor predictable. We love, and we experience loss. We're healthy one day, and sick the next. We have a beautiful intention to do good, and discover that we're causing harm.

When you feel like you're spending too much time in the painful parts of life, psychotherapy can help you to get unstuck and discover, or rediscover, how to live a life of meaning and joy.

Here are my therapeutic philosophies:

1) You have a wise, core self who is your own best healer

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Call it what you will: the wisest part of you, the most authentic you, your Soul or Spirit. It is the part of you that you feel most at home with, that you can glimpse when you're peaceful, alone, and not worrying about what anybody else thinks.

Most of us experienced this part of ourselves when we were kids, but then lost touch with it over time, as we strove to fit into a society that told us something was wrong with us.

Reclaiming this part of you is essential to your well-being and happiness.

2) Healing is holistic

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Humans such complex beings. Think of all the things that can impact how you're doing on a given day: * Your thoughts; * Your emotions; * Your body; * How you're relating to others, like partners, friends, family, and colleagues; * The work that you do in the world; * Your spirituality; * The larger society; * How you relate to the natural world.

I believe that psychotherapy needs to be a safe space in which to address any or all of these facets of your experience.

3) Nature heals

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Have you noticed you tend to feel better when you spend time in nature? Isn't it strange, then, that we have assumed for so long that healing happens best within four walls?

Here are some of the benefits of doing psychotherapeutic work in nature: Nature brings us back to who we are at our deepest level. Nature can put our lives in perspective. We can feel connected to something larger than ourselves. We remember to slow down.

For people who feel called to do therapeutic work in or with the natural world, it can be as simple as conducting a therapy session on a trail or at a park. Or it can go deeper, as an individual seeks more active participation from nature in his or her healing.

4) It is possible to live a joyful, meaningful life - even in the 21st century U.S.

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Our society is severely unhealthy. From an early age, we're taught something is wrong with us, that we need to buy a bunch of stuff (clothes, cosmetics, alcohol, drugs, etc.) to fix the flaws or make us feel better. Systemic sexism, racism, homophobia and so many more "isms" teach us to walk around our daily lives feeling "less than." We see violence condoned on a daily basis. Powerful forces are destroying the natural world as we know it.

No wonder we feel confused, depressed, volatile, anxious, frustrated, lost. In fact: how wonderful that we are. It is some deeper part of us saying: "wake up!"

If we're willing to take a risk, to listen to what our wisest selves are trying to tell us, each one of us can heal ourselves and live a more meaningful, balanced, and joyful life.

Shamanic healing

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Sometimes our challenges have a spiritual basis. For those who are interested, I also offer shamanic healing, which can support breakthroughs that would not be possible in conventional therapy, and can achieve results in one or a few sessions that could take years otherwise. For more information, see www.cedartreehealing.org.

Contact

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To discuss whether this approach is a good fit for you, book your first appointment, or learn more, give me a call at (303) 518-3755, send me an email at abrams.kris@gmail.com, or go to www.cedartreehealing.org.