Specialties

Expressive Arts Therapy

Reiki Energy Healing

Expressive Arts Therapy, for all ages

The process and practice of Expressive Arts Therapy uses all forms of creative expression in counseling.   Various expressions include and are not limited to: visual art, music, dance/movement, poetry, video, and psychodrama.  The process and product of creating and expressing in this way provides opportunities to access deep internal information that you may not be able to express via verbal communication alone. This can be beneficial for any age. I am qualified to provide conventional counseling, and will be happy to engage in talk therapy with you if that is what you are comfortable with in the initial phase of therapy.  I have specialized training in specific Expressive Therapy techniques including: painting, drawing, voice-work, piano, drumming, video, dance/movement and poetry. All forms of creative expression will be respected, valued, and nurtured.  I am sensitive to the power of expressing from different aspects of self. These aspects may be: emotional, spiritual, imaginal, literal, aesthetic.  Expressive material will be observed without subjective judgment, or inappropriate interpretation.  

for Individual’s

There are times when we all need a little bit of support. Life is complex. The daily stressors that we experience may make it challenging to cope. The balance of how we manage difficulty can be tipped so far that we need assistance bringing us back to our center. Expressive Arts Therapy is a useful tool to strengthen our inner voice, build coping strategies for better functioning, increase a sense of resiliency, and connect us to our core values and beliefs. Feelings can manifest into behaviors when not processed or released. Behaviors can become a personality when the habitual patterns shape how we respond, react, and interact with our environments, loved ones, and communities. Creating an opportunity, in the here and now, to explore these patterns and reactions can generate new ways of being. This approach is grounded in the dynamics of the person-centered interpersonal relationship that we work to establish together.   

for Children and families

The life of a child is rich with imagination, wonder, and play.  When environment and nourishment aligns to support development, every child can have the opportunity to thrive.  When a child is struggling their behavior is the first indicator.  Children cannot always articulate how they are feeling by verbally communicating. The use of Expressive Arts and Play Therapy is a beneficial practice to engage children in improving emotional regulation, reducing school stress, and developing strategies for expressing themselves. 

A family is a microcosm structured to assist one another with functioning in the big wide world. The pace that life now requires us to move in, at times, doesn’t create room for deep connecting, pausing, and conscious parenting.  This can cause a loss of: the inherent understanding of one another, the ability to support the emotional world of a developing child, and the conditions needed for unconditional positive regard to flow. Sometimes structured connecting is needed. At times a space for improving attachments is necessary for healing. Participating in Family Expressive Arts Therapy is a unique and playful way to learn strategies for improved communication, connection, and effective-loving discipline approaches.

Reiki energy healing

The practice of Reiki energy healing is a gentle non-manipulative, hands-on therapy that can be utilized as a tool for relaxation, stress reduction, and support in the process of healing.  During a treatment you comfortably lay on a massage table while remaining fully clothed.  In a typical session, the practitioner will place their hands on various points along the vertical centerline on the body, starting at the top of the person’s head. If you or your child is not comfortable with touch at all, you may request to have a session completely with hands hovering over the physical body.  As the practitioner, therapist is trained to be a channel for universal-spiritual-life force energy that has its own intelligence; therefore the practitioner will in essence, get out of the way of what the energy needs/wants to do.  If a parent/guardian is interested in this service for their child, they are responsible to remain in the room for the duration of the Reiki session. Reiki energy healing can be integrated into the Expressive Arts Therapy session or you can schedule separate sessions for Reiki.  The intention of Reiki energy healing is to be complementary to other forms of health care you may be currently the consumer of, and is not intended to diagnose or treat a medical condition.  

In order for there to be change, or transformation, a process of combining stillness, reflection, and action may be the design for metamorphosis.