One of the classic images of therapy is the moment when we, eyes filled with tears, finally see that some painful thing has secretly been standing in our way. We realize that we don’t have to feel, think, or behave this way anymore. The relief is tremendous. There is something profound about becoming aware of the hidden patterns in our lives, although it is most often a more gradual process. What is unknown to us influences the choices we make much more than we realize. This

Therapy can be a bit mysterious. We seek out the company of someone skilled with talk and enter into a fairly one-sided conversation. If all goes well we come to know ourselves better and suffer less. How exactly does this happen? There are a wide variety of therapeutic styles and real disagreement about which ones work best. Some therapists focus on thoughts, others emotion, others somatic experience. Therapists may work with dreams or they may talk about taking concrete st

This blog will be a window into how I think about therapy. I'm a theory nerd and enjoy diving into the world of ideas. I don't believe theory is a necessary part of therapy but some people, myself included, experience an added benefit when the theory behind the work is part of the conversation. These posts will be a creative exploration of what I consider some of the fundamentals of effective therapy. I'm a fan of writing that both opens up a topic and makes it as clear and r