I am here to help you navigate the chaos that
accompanies inner growth.

“It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”  - Jiddu Krishnamurti

When my own well-adjusted ego began to break down thirty years ago, I clung to this quote by Krishnamurti like a talisman of protection. It helped me to remind myself that stability does not necessarily indicate a state of sanity. In fact, to survive dysfunction by adapting to it would indicate a stable state of insanity! For this reason I was able to reframe my ego’s breakdown as the beginning of authentic sanity, still in its initial stage of instability.

I learned there is a difference between being “well-adjusted” and being well. As a psychotherapist, I see myself as a guide to those who are making this transition, at whatever stage and in whatever form it might take. I am here to help navigate the chaos that accompanies inner growth.

After twenty-five years in practice, I have learned to surrender to a process of healing that is unique to each client. My intent is to enter the world of my clients and understand, as fully as possible, their experience. I bring my attention and my presence to each session, actively engaging my clients in the process. When I speak of “presence”, I am referring to a state of being that reflects my own inner work. Having looked within to heal my own unconscious fears and self-judgement, my presence provides my clients with the psychological and emotional safety they need to openly express themselves. Coming from my experience of being a client in psychotherapy as well as a psychotherapist, I hold this sense of safety as the foundation of the therapeutic connection that heals and affects change.

I develop “working theories” along the way to interpret what is happening in my client’s experience of the problem. I will set them aside at any time if they no longer serve the therapeutic process. I want my clients to be curious about themselves, to be motivated to look within themselves without fear of self-judgment.

In therapy, social rules that regulate self disclosure are left outside the door to my office. Being “responsible” in therapy is focusing on yourself and your issues. You never need to apologize for taking too much time or being a burden or feeling selfish for not giving the other person a chance to speak. In therapy, it is about you. When you take yourself on in this way, the process will carry you like a river to the answers you need to heal.

The psychological paradigm behind my approach to therapy has been profoundly influenced by Carl Jung’s exploration of the unconscious, especially his description of the dynamics underlying our self-destructive behaviors. Eckhart Tolle’s two books: The Power of Now and The New Earth were both instrumental in helping me to balance the power of unconscious drives and negative thought loops by keeping my attention rooted in the reality of the present moment. Understanding how the reptilian brain activates when we are emotionally triggered stopped me from destroying more relationships in reaction to past trauma. The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz as well as the books by Carlos Castenada served to open my mind to aspects of reality lost to us yet still retained in the knowledge of shamanic practice. And finally, A Course in Miracles, introduced to me in the late 1980s, offered me a way back from my self-hate and my alienation from Spirit.

Although I could continue this list with more recent intellectual influences, the above depicts the foundation from which I have evolved as a psychotherapist. It is my intent to be as transparent as possible in my self presentation so you are well-informed in your search for the right therapist. 

I look forward to meeting you,
Isa