PRIVATE PRACTICE:
I welcome individuals,
couples, adolescents and children from age 4 and up into my practice.
People of all genders, race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual orientation
are welcome, as well as people involved or interested in relationship
configurations outside the mainstream. I bring a sensitivity to my
work with people from a diverse range of backgrounds and orientations.
Specific issues I work
with include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Loss and grief
- Life transitions, including
loss, divorce/separation, graduating school, empty nest, new baby,
career changes
- Shyness
- Pregnancy and Parenting
- Trauma and PTSD, including
the effects of rape, childhood sexual and physical abuse, witnessing
horrific events
- Relationship challenges,
including communication troubles, infidelity, issues involving sex
and sexuality
- Career difficulties
Creativity
I bring a solid background in psychotherapeutic approaches together
with alternative, non-verbal ways of working when appropriate, including
somatic, or body-oriented psychotherapy, expressive arts, and the
practice of mindfulness. My job is to work in partnership with you
to discover and clarify what changes you want to make in your life,
and to give you perspectives and tools you may not be able to arrive
at on your own. I hope to bring a sense of warmth and humor to the
serious work of human growth with the people I have the honor of working
with.
Taking the step to call
a therapist takes courage. I invite you to call for a free phone consultation,
and look forward to speaking with you!
Somatic Therapy
As a body-oriented therapist,
I do not use touch, as a bodyworker would. Rather, I help you to tune
into what you are doing bodily, and how you are doing it. By raising
your awareness in this way, you are able to experience things about
yourself that are usually outside of your normal awareness. As more
of yourself becomes available to you, options of how to act beyond
limiting patterns become more apparent, and it becomes possible to
create change in yourself and in your life. The process of change
and growth arises from being able to stretch beyond our habitual ways
of doing things. My clients often find that non-verbal ways of working
allow them to learn more about themselves in deep, meaningful ways.
Somatic work also can provide
tangible tools that you can take with you and put into practice in
your life outside of our sessions. There are techniques that can be
especially helpful for managing anxiety and depression, and coping
with stress.
I come from the belief
that our minds, bodies, and souls are all interconnected, inseparable
aspects of each one of us. You can learn more about Stanley Keleman’s
Formative Psychology Process at www.centerpress.com,
and about Hakomi therapy at www.sfhakomi.org/about.html.
Both sites have several free articles about the methods. I am greatly
influenced by both of these approaches and have trained in both, and
continue to do so.
Expressive Arts
Depending on your interest
and what is appropriate for a particular session or moment, we may
use drawing, painting, clay, poetry and other writing, and music and
voice work. I also use sandplay therapy, a modality which incorporates
small figures which can be placed into a tray of sand to make a “world”
that reflects something about your inner experience. Some people choose
never to use these ways of working, while others may use them often,
or occasionally. I never pressure anyone to do anything that they
don’t want to do. The expressive arts are a wonderful way to
stretch beyond our normal, logical ways of thinking, and to bring
a sense of playfulness and curiosity to the work of human growth.
Dreams
Dreams are illustrations...
from the book your soul is writing about you. ~Marsha Norman
Dreams are answers to questions we haven't yet figured out how to
ask. ~X-Files
Working with dreams is
a wonderful way of receiving messages, information, and the longings
of your deepest self. I often work with people’s dreams to help
them learn what is wanting to come into being, and how to give form
to these things. Sometimes, people don’t remember their dreams,
but there are things we can do to help you remember them if you want
to.
Professional Trainings:
Carrie has offered
the following trainings which may be available at this time upon request.
- Embodied Arts in the
Clinical Setting
- Working Somatically
with Adult and Child Victims of Psychological Trauma
- Introduction to Sandplay
Therapy
- Introduction to Play
Therapy
Carrie has presented
trainings at the following Bay Area Agencies:
- Jewish Children &
Family Services of the East Bay
- Clearwater Counseling
Center (formerly La Cheim Children & Family Services) , Oakland
- John F. Kennedy University,
Graduate School of Holistic Studies, and Counseling Center), Pleasant
Hill
- East Bay chapter of
The California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
