Counseling Near Asheville
Despite our sense that these times are uniquely difficult, we know our ancestors suffered, too. They endured loss, death, physical hardship, and separation—just as we do. They may have experienced these challenges differently, however.
In many healthy cultures, life was more interconnected. People depended on one another in concrete ways. Rituals of trance, grief, and celebration were woven into the fabric of their lives. These practices have largely been lost in our relentless pursuit of “progress.”
That loss has left a gap—one that therapy attempts to fill. While a therapist can’t replace tribe or an interdependent culture, we can draw upon some of the same healing elements. For me, those include:
Relationships in which a person feels deeply seen, known, cared about, and connected.
Somatic practices that help release the stress and trauma of being human.
Rituals that mark significant transitions and milestones.
Assistance in shaping a more comprehensive understanding—one that holds their personal pain within a larger, more compassionate framework.
In addition to filling those gaps, therapy also addresses the overactive mind of the 21st Century human. The constant stream of information, relentless decision-making, and competitiveness of our culture overstimulate the prefrontal cortex and disconnected us from our bodies. This leaves many of us anxious, stressed, and discontent.
There are no cookie-cutter solutions to this sort of untangling and re-imagining. At its core, my work is deeply personal. I believe that transformation happens not just through insight, but through relationship. I also use somatic practices, depth psychology, nature and expressive therapies to get past the chatter of the mind and closer to where the psyche lives.