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What To Do About Those Annoying Habits?

You might have a little habit -- like chewing your fingernails. Or you might have a habit that's a bit more troublesome -- like gambling away the family savings.

Whether your habits are small or big, it pays to ask if they create problems for yourself and others. Think of habits as ongoing patterns of behavior -- and any behavior bothers you or concerns the people you love might be worth some consideration for change.

This is hard to do alone, and the people we love are often the last people who can help. They're too darn close to the situation to have any neutrality or balance about how many cigarettes you're smoking or the hours of television you watch -- or even the habit you have of noticing all their habits!

This is where getting outside help comes in. My office is a living laboratory -- where you do more than talk about those patterns you want to change: You have the chance to practice disorganizing those patterns and developing new ways of self-management.

(If you want to explore changing a habit pattern, click the link below to contact me and we will set up a screening appointment.)

We Experience & We Act, Therefore We Are

We live in a time of extremes. The shadow side of our vitality as a culture includes the pull toward instant gratification. I want it all right now. Bigger and faster is better. Last year's record holder is this year's has been.

When Descartes wrote, "I think, therefore I am," western civilization entered a long era of exploring the workings of the mind. Even today, the Life of the Mind marks the development of our modern technologies and many of the things that have made the world more livable for many people.

Yet it is a double-edged sword, this living in a world ruled by the brain. While images, fantasy and words fascinate and hold our attention, we risk undervaluing those other aspects of life that are of great importance in being human: the ability to feel, to experience and to respond. One result is that over-stimulation and behaviors on the edge are seen as normal, even expected.

Developing subtler skills of awareness and self-management don't make for big headlines, but in the long story of a life, may count for more.

Taking the time to experience yourself, to learn the skills of managing your own responses to life events, to the actions of others and to your own attitudes creates a satisfaction that is beyond measure.

Many people who seek out professional counseling want to taste this and learn to sustain this in their daily lives. They want to create their next stages in living -- to broaden their capacity to touch and be touched, so that their lives are more than just images and words. They want to enrich their ability to respond.

Somatic (body-oriented) psychotherapy, is not just for talking. This form of therapy helps people tap into deeper ways of being -- through more than just words, imagination and beliefs.

Somatic psychotherapy is a place for practicing new ways of experiencing yourself, initially in a safe place and then out in your personal world.

Yes, you think, and therefore you are.

More importantly, you experience and you feel.

And most of all, you take action -- and how you act determines who you are and the value of the life that you lead.

(If you want to experience my somatic approach to life change, click the link below to contact me and we will set up a screening appointment.)

Women Healing Women: Individual and Group Support

If you are a woman who has challenges around alcohol, drugs, relationships and other substances and behaviors, then individual therapy and support groups can be a useful adjunct for addressing these issues.

For women in 12-Step recovery:
For you, a therapist who respects the 12-step process and affirms your relationship with program friends and sponsor is essential.

If the 12-Steps are not your cup of tea:
For you, a therapist who understands addiction will be more effective in helping you develop your individualized recovery plan.

INDIVIDUAL THERAPY: Having a private place to work through issues that you're not quite ready to deal with at group level is important for many women. Because women often focus on taking care of others, they can be afraid of burdening their loved ones with their own issues. Being seen and heard by a person who is not a friend or sponsor is invaluable.

GROUP THERAPY: A facilitated group is a terrific resource for women who participate in the 12-step programs.

I lead a Women Healing Women interactive process group for women who are familiar with any 12-step program and who want to share openly the deeper layers associated with their journeys.

This group incorporates experiential work, particularly addressing patterns in the body to access unconscious fears and motivations, explore and disorganize automatic reactions, and to deepen your connection to yourself.

If you want to read more, click the link below for a flyer about the Women Healing Women group.

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read and print out the flyer. If you do not have it installed on your computer, you can download it free of charge at the url below.

If you want to enhance your recovery process through the Women Healing Women Tuesday evening group, click the link below to email me and we will set up a screening appointment.

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