Depth Therapy

---

I practice Depth psychotherapy which is informed by Psychodynamic and Jungian Analytical theories.   This means we take time to notice patterns, explore your inner world, work with dreams, honor personal creativity and spirituality, consider the impact of trauma, and give attention to the parts of you that may have been overlooked.  

Many people find Jungian ideas especially meaningful in midlife and beyond, or in an existential crisis such as during a divorce, when questions of purpose and authenticity naturally become more vivid.

Therapy is a process for helping people navigate relationships, life transitions, and personal challenges.  We go at a pace that feels right to you.  I bring curiosity, depth, and compassion to your sessions.   

Depth Psychology sees symptoms as signals, and tries to understand what the signal is trying to say.  Take for instance the symptom of a headache.  In a similar way that taking an aspirin will help alleviate the pain of a headache, therapy can include ways to manage and cope with symptoms.  Often therapy starts here.  

However, aspirin will not help you find a way to deal with what is causing the headaches to begin with.  And not all headaches respond to aspirin.  Depth therapy includes management of symptoms, but is particularly good at understanding the underlying causes making the symptoms appear.  

Many of my clients have been in therapy before and are now looking for something deeper.  They learned how to "take aspirin," which can be very helpful.  But now they want to understand why the headaches keep coming back.

I discuss this with a few of the common topics bringing people to therapy here:

My general approach is to apply concepts from Psychodynamic and Jungian Analytical Psychotherapy in ways that best suit the person before me. Therapy is not one-size-fits-all; it is tailored to each person’s needs and goals.  

For example, adolescents or people dealing with trauma or disorganizing symptoms may require a more practical focus, working on building coping skills and ways to feel steady.  When engaged in this work, we tend to look less at the past, and more on what's happening today.  The focus here is on building resiliency by finding your voice and your strength so you can deal with whatever is happening in your life right now.

Others find that meaningful change happens naturally through the pursuit of self-awareness and insight. Together, we determine what best supports your healing and growth. 

Freud’s Psychoanalytic ideas shed light on how we adapt to survive the circumstances of our growing up years. Jung’s Analytical approach invites us to notice what may have been lost or left behind in that process and to reclaim those vital parts of self.  This reclaiming can bring a greater sense of wholeness and meaning to life.  

Depth Psychotherapy has its roots in the pioneering work of Sigmund Freud in 19th-century Vienna and was further developed by Carl Jung.

This approach views the rational competent self, the part that manages everyday responsibilities, as only one aspect of who we are.  Beneath the surface, the unconscious mind quietly shapes our feelings, behaviors, and relationships.  When its influence goes unexamined, it can give rise to symptoms or patterns that interfere with our well-being. 

Self-understanding is at the heart of lasting change. By exploring the unconscious, our emotions, dreams, and inner life, we can develop a deeper understanding of ourselves and open the door to greater freedom and fulfillment.

Dream interpretation is one method that may be used to understand your inner life.  If you are interested, you can learn how to work with your dreams and creative expressions to understand their meaning and guidance.

Dreams arise from both the personal and collective unconscious. The personal unconscious holds memories and experiences that have shaped who you are, whether consciously remembered or not. 

The collective unconscious reflects experiences that are common to being human and are expressed in universal symbols and themes. These archetypal images appear across time and cultures in stories, art, and dreams, and offer another lens for understanding yourself.