About

Can you relate to Vivian?

(a composite of many clients)

After our initial consultation, Vivian scheduled a session and filled out paperwork before the first session. She was a little apprehensive when we began our first session, but I validated her feelings were normal.

Vivian relaxed and settled into the comfortable couch alongside the relaxing scent of a lavender beeswax candle. (If you don’t like lavender, it’s ok; we can still make it work!)

Vivian could tell that I was really listening and wanted to understand as she began to share more background details about feeling drained and resentful as a mother and wife. She felt like she poured all her energy into the kids and other people’s needs.

Vivian struggled with boundaries and saying no to the requests of others around her. She said, “Once things calm down, I’ll go to yoga again.”

Vivian confessed she hadn’t been on a date with her husband in over a year… “We kept saying we’d plan something, but we just never got around to actually doing it or putting aside money for a sitter. Plus, at the end of the day I’m exhausted.”

I shared my understanding of Vivian’s issue to check to see if I had it right. Once I felt like I had more of a solid understanding of Vivian, we worked together to define approximately three concrete goals to guide our work.

Each week we met at the same time for 50 minutes. I followed Vivian’s lead as to what she felt was most important to discuss each week, while maintaining a focus on her established goals.

Vivian experienced me as optimistic, nonjudgmental, open and someone who enjoys a good sense of humor. She felt she could be candid and authentic with me.

After a few sessions, Vivian began to see concrete ways that she could positively shift areas in her life, even in just small ways at first. I offered Vivian concrete tools to help nurture her own needs while helping her establish new and healthy patterns of living and that allowed her to meet her real priorities.

I began to incorporate into our sessions elements such as journal writing, active and cathartic meditation work, and art therapy. Vivian began to see the multi-dimensional quality of our work together as she began to experience positive shifts on a deeper level.

As our sessions continued, Vivian admitted that she was starting to uncover and nurture her authentic self for the first time through our work together. As she began to care for herself in new healthy ways, Vivian noticed positive shifts in her family as well…