PRINCIPLES

While a variety of principles, beliefs, and theories are incorporated into a holistic approach to healing, the following are some of the core principles that guide our clinicians:

PRINCIPLES (influenced by the Hakomi Method):

Self-awareness -One of the primary goals of counseling is self-awareness.  Heightening awareness of our internal mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual experience allows us to gain insight into both the joys and hardships we experience.  Our goal in counseling is to learn how to work with and through hardships while magnifying and multiplying joys, strengths, and successes.  Ultimately, a deeper sense of knowing oneself is not only a means for healing, it is also an end in and of itself.

Organicity - Organicity refers to the natural unfolding process of therapy and the belief that as human beings, we will naturally move toward healing when time, intention, and attention are directed toward this goal.

Mindfulness - a state of non-judgmentally drawing our awareness toward our internal experience in the present moment. 

Meaning - Finding meaning in both joys and hardships brings deeper value and understanding of our experience. 

Acceptance and Responsibility - One of the challenges in life is to balance an acceptance of ourselves as we are and have been with taking responsibility for our role in creating our life experiences and how we interpret them.  Acceptance is not the same as defeat or giving up - it is a surrendering to and awareness of what has been and what is so we can release resistance and self-judgment and open space for change.

Balance/Holism - internal and external balance is key.  Internal balance comes from attending to mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health - addressing only feelings or only thoughts in counseling ignores critical facets of what make us dynamic human beings. Attending to our physical and spiritual well-being are also important to gain a sense of wholeness.