MY THERAPY ORIENTATION & FOUNDATIONAL VIEWS
LOVING KINDNESS
My training in contemplative practice & psychotherapy was focused on Maitri (Tibetan Buddhism), which can be translated as "making friends with oneself. Having gentleness, kindness, friendliness and warmth towards oneself & others." Sometimes we are not very skilled at being gentle & kind to ourselves. Often the opposite is the norm, which results in an endless barrage of self-aggressive thoughts riddled with "shoulds." It's impossible to connect to our life from this place of self-judgement. We can't fake it. Loving ourselves is not fluffy, unimportant stuff. It is the most essential ingredient to living a life of purpose & connection.
REDUCING ANXIETY & STRESS
All of us have fear, whether it be emotionally-based or survival instinct that has become overwhelming, flooding our body with anxiety & panic attacks. Many of us have in many ways told ourselves a story that we should not be or feel a certain way, which causes conflict & stress in the body & mind. Perhaps we would like to move to a place in our life where fear does not hold us back? Together, we work with mindfulness techniques & body-centered practices to regulate fear & anxiety as well as recognizing the thoughts that fuel fears.
I utilize all the research & insights related to the brain, nervous system, sleep science, movement & early attachment information. One of the ways I work is by helping clients retrain nervous system dysregulation, anxiety & panic attacks as well as depressed or frozen nervous systems.
I utilize all the research & insights related to the brain, nervous system, sleep science, movement & early attachment information. One of the ways I work is by helping clients retrain nervous system dysregulation, anxiety & panic attacks as well as depressed or frozen nervous systems.
EMPOWERMENT & PERSONAL GROWTH
Empowerment means that we trust ourself to know how to align with our intuition as well as know when our body is saying "NO" or "YES"....& to act in alignment with that truth & trust in ourself. My therapy is client-centered, meaning the client decides what they want to work on. Personal growth happens when we collaborate based on your goals combined with my insight of what I'm seeing and hearing from my client.
HEALTHY BOUNDARIES
Boundaries are an extremely important focus & effect every area of our life. Let's reaffirm healthy boundaries & what it means to "clean up" already damaged boundaries in our relationships to others & our relationship to ourself.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
If emotional intelligence is not modeled for us as we develop & grow we simply do not learn how to know what we feel or we learn that some emotions are not okay & others are unacceptable to others around us. Emotional intelligence begins with knowing how to identify feelings & to learn to attune to ourself.
MINDFULNESS & EMBODIMENT
Mindfulness has become a commonly used term that in some ways has become watered-down due to overly broad use. From my point of view, Mindfulness is our effort to turn our attention & awareness to the present moment in an intentional way. When we use mindfulness to work with body, breath, movement & posture this creates embodiment. Being present within our body creates a higher potential for healing trauma & increasing quality of our relationships overall.
A VIEW OF TRAUMA
Some categories of trauma are obvious such as childhood abuse, experiencing war or being assaulted, but there are somewhat less obvious sources of trauma that are important to be aware of such as: being sedated for surgery, emotional neglect, having parents who were neglectful or depressed & unable to emotionally attune, being exposed to adult content or horror films at a young age, being in an incubator or other birth events such as having trouble coming down the birth canal or c-section birth, being misunderstood by family or peers in an on-going way, accumulated daily living challenges such as living paycheck to paycheck, systemic oppression... The list goes on for trauma that we might not realize qualifies as trauma. Bringing awareness & attention to trauma is the first step to resolving & freeing the body.
My Education
Master's Degree Naropa University
Contemplative Psychotherapy-2013
Bachelor’s Degree University of Missouri
English, Creative Writing – 2000
My Licensing
LPC-Licensed Professional Counselor
A Licensed Professional Counselor must hold a Masters’ degree in their
profession and be supervised for two years post-Masters’ degree
plus 2,000 hours clinical experience as well as passing a National Licensing Exam.
My Special Training
Level One Training Sensorimotor Psychotherapy - 2019
Reiki I and II with Susan Chiocchi – 2016
1 Year Externship with Boulder & Bridge Center for Play Therapy – 2015
1 Year Internship with TRU Community Hospice – 2013
9 Years working in the Windhorse Approach - Since 2011
2 Year Apprenticeship in Shamanic Arts with Ancient Ways Center – 2005
1 Year Apprenticeship for Astrology with Quan Tracy Cherry – 1999
My Personal Practices
Tai Chi & Qi Gong
Body-based Buddhist Meditation
5Rhythms Movement/Dance
Somatic Groundwork
First, let me address my last name...no, it's not Greek! It's Lithuanian. I was born in rural Missouri and raised in the woods, which informs a great respect & love of the outdoors. In high school I began to study Astrology in a low-key way, but found that once in college friends always wanted more information, which encouraged me to learn to calculate & do Astrology "for real," which led to a formal apprenticeship in 1999. I received my BA in Creative Writing & worked in the health food industry & cooking for special diets before moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2000. In Boulder I continued cooking before transitioning into end of life care, Shamanic Practices & continuing practicing Astrology. I attended Naropa University & received my Master's in Contemplative Psychotherapy & Buddhist Studies in 2013. I worked in Contemplative end of life care where I developed Dementia education & supervised teams of care staff before committing the lion's share of my time to seeing psychotherapy & play therapy clients in 2017.
Master's Degree Naropa University
Contemplative Psychotherapy-2013
Bachelor’s Degree University of Missouri
English, Creative Writing – 2000
My Licensing
LPC-Licensed Professional Counselor
A Licensed Professional Counselor must hold a Masters’ degree in their
profession and be supervised for two years post-Masters’ degree
plus 2,000 hours clinical experience as well as passing a National Licensing Exam.
My Special Training
Level One Training Sensorimotor Psychotherapy - 2019
Reiki I and II with Susan Chiocchi – 2016
1 Year Externship with Boulder & Bridge Center for Play Therapy – 2015
1 Year Internship with TRU Community Hospice – 2013
9 Years working in the Windhorse Approach - Since 2011
2 Year Apprenticeship in Shamanic Arts with Ancient Ways Center – 2005
1 Year Apprenticeship for Astrology with Quan Tracy Cherry – 1999
My Personal Practices
Tai Chi & Qi Gong
Body-based Buddhist Meditation
5Rhythms Movement/Dance
Somatic Groundwork
First, let me address my last name...no, it's not Greek! It's Lithuanian. I was born in rural Missouri and raised in the woods, which informs a great respect & love of the outdoors. In high school I began to study Astrology in a low-key way, but found that once in college friends always wanted more information, which encouraged me to learn to calculate & do Astrology "for real," which led to a formal apprenticeship in 1999. I received my BA in Creative Writing & worked in the health food industry & cooking for special diets before moving to Boulder, Colorado in 2000. In Boulder I continued cooking before transitioning into end of life care, Shamanic Practices & continuing practicing Astrology. I attended Naropa University & received my Master's in Contemplative Psychotherapy & Buddhist Studies in 2013. I worked in Contemplative end of life care where I developed Dementia education & supervised teams of care staff before committing the lion's share of my time to seeing psychotherapy & play therapy clients in 2017.
"In our bodies, in this moment, there live the seed impulses of the change and spiritual growth we seek, and to awaken them we must bring our awareness into the body, into the here and now." ~Pat Ogden
