Existential-Humanistic Counseling 

My approach to counseling begins with the trust that you are the best authority on your own experience.

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"Only one koan matters - you."

- Ikkyu

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Rather than approaching counseling as a program for fixing what is wrong with you (or what you believe to be wrong with you), this type of counseling offers a space to slow down, become more aware of what is arising within you, and explore the questions that matter most. What do I really want? What gives my life meaning? How do I want to live? What am I avoiding, and what am I moving toward?

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Humanistic counseling recognizes the organic capacity within each of us for growth, self-awareness, and living a life congruent with our values. Existential counseling invites us to consider the realities of being human that we all share: Death, freedom and responsibility, isolation, and meaninglessness. How we react or respond to these realities is a focal point of our work together.

 

I don't see myself as someone who has the answers to your life or as an authority who can tell you what you should do. Instead, I view counseling as a collaborative inquiry process. My role is to listen, to be present with you during the counseling hour, and to offer perspectives, questions, metaphors, quotes and stories that may help you see your experience in new ways. You may begin to notice patterns, assumptions, fears, and possibilities that were previously clouded over by our conditioning and beliefs. 

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This approach may be helpful for those who are drawn to reflection and contemplation - people who are less interested in quick solutions and more interested in developing a deeper relationship with themselves and the life they are living. Sometimes the most meaningful work in counseling is not finding an answer, but becoming more curious about the questions themselves. 

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"Greater than the greatest good in life is to know who we are."

- Nisargadatta Maharaj