Collaboration

In order for therapy to be effective, we need a collaborative relationship. Collaboration means that we work together to establish goals, choose relevant therapeutic practices, and evaluate progress; each contributing our own knowledge, skills, and expertise.  

As therapists, our training allows us to guide, contain, direct, and set the conditions for an effective therapeutic relationship. We bring specific techniques and exercises that will support you in developing new skills and insight. We will work with you to facilitate an increased awareness of your own knowledge, values, and resources, and offer suggestions and advice when it is relevant. 

As a client, you bring your own knowledge and skills, and most importantly, you are the expert on your own life. You know intimately the steps you've taken, both successfully and unsuccessfully to cope with painful circumstances, to achieve important goals, and to make changes in your life.  It is through the harnessing of your own knowledge and insight that we can make real and sustainable progress on your goals.

Transparency

Part of successful collaboration is having access to all relevant information. You have a right to know as much as you want to know about the process of therapy. We will answer any questions you may have about our work together and we request that you hold the intention of being forthcoming with us about your thoughts, feelings and feedback about the therapy process itself to ensure that therapy is tailored to your needs.

Authenticity

Therapy is a personal meeting of hearts and minds and a professional relationship with clear boundaries. As therapists, we are responsible for creating an atmosphere that is inviting and safe for you to be fully who you are. Creating this safe atmosphere requires that we are willing to meet you in this authenticity. It also requires that we are fully present to you, that we give and receive feedback with openness and respect, and that we are  invested in your wellbeing. 

Hope

The kind of hope that informs our practice is a grounded hope, not a magical hope. It is a hope rooted in the knowledge that our lives change, for good and for bad, that no suffering or pleasure is permanent, and that new possibilities may be closer than we think.  We have witnessed how pain, when held with compassion, can provide opportunities to awaken to new ways of living that are more fulfilling and how, even in our most cynical moments there is a part of us that yearns for freedom, love and meaning. Change is not just possible, it is inevitable. Sometimes we just need a little support in coping with unwanted change and bringing new possibilities within reach.

Integration

There are many effective models of therapy, psychological theories, and beliefs about how to bring about desired change. There are aspects of every model of therapy that will work brilliantly for one client and will not be helpful at all for someone else. Because each client is unique, we have come to embrace an integrative approach to therapy that draws together effective practices from a multiple therapy models.