The Pursuit of Happiness: Counseling for Depression and Anxiety

"It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.

-U.G. Krishnamurti. 

 

My approach is best suited for people who are no longer satisfied with easy answers or quick fixes. Perhaps you have achieved some of what you thought you wanted-relationships, career, financial security, personal growth-and still find yourself asking "Now what?" Or maybe you have reached a point where you realize you do not actually know what you want and are ready to begin asking harder questions. Who am I really? What am I really seeking? Is there anything in this world capable of providing lasting fulfillment? What if the problem is that we have never questioned the assumptions behind the "pursuit of happiness" itself?

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"Security and happiness cannot be found in anything that comes and goes. Find whatever it is in your experience that doesn't appear, move, change or disappear, and invest your identity, security and happiness in that alone."

- Rupert Spira

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My ideal clients are those who are willing to explore life's existential realities-death, meaning, purpose, freedom, and isolation. This work may be especially helpful for those who feel out of step with the culture around them and no longer find much comfort in conventional ideas of success, happiness, or the hamster wheel of self-improvement projects. 

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"Although everyone wants happiness, most people suffer from tragically mistaken ideas about what brings it."

-Roger Walsh

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My approach is not about fixing you or helping you become a better version of yourself. It is an invitation to slow down, question deeply, and discover what remains when the usual strategies no longer work. I do not claim to have answers for you. What I offer is a place to rest, laugh, think for yourself, and see what is true in your own experience.

 

"But little by little,

as you left their voices behind,

the stars began to burn

through the sheets of clouds,

and there was a new voice

which you slowly

recognized as your own,

that kept you company

as you strode deeper and deeper

into the world,

determined to do

the only thing you could do--

determined to save

the only life you could save."

- Mary Oliver, from The Journey 

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"And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." ​

- Anais Nin

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