Facilitating Your Self-Discovery
Depth psychotherapy, as I offer it, emphasizes facilitating your self-discovery. Through a dedication to open, honest, spontaneous conversations, optional expressive art and writing, dream recall, meditations, and inner body focusing, you will be supported to bypass your critical conscious mind to access your subconscious mind programs to see how they are causing disturbances in your life.
I am devoted to helping you discover the deeper aspects of yourself without the intrusion of opinion, interpretation, cheerleading, or problem-solving. This will primarily involve us compassionately attending to your emerging growth edge and listening carefully to how you need to unfold next. I aim to provide and invite a sacred space for your originality, inner imagery, thoughts and feelings to reverberate more deeply for you.
Self-Regulation
Depth Therapy could be a good fit if you can reasonably regulate your nervous system. Engaging in depth therapy will not be possible if you are highly anxious. While some anxiety is normal in the therapy process, if you experience chronic dysregulation, sharing your inner world will feel unsafe because your nervous system's prime concern will be protection.
If your self-protection mechanisms are overly activated, it will be difficult to collaborate in the depth therapy process. If you tend to be highly anxious, it is more important to recondition your nervous system with a therapist specializing in polyvagal regulation so that you can feel safe enough to engage in the depth therapy process later.
To condition your nervous system for Depth Therapy, please see Stage 1: Safety and Stabilization in the Three Stages of Trauma Healing.
Paying Attention To Your Inner World
Taking the journey into your inner world can feel challenging sometimes, as it requires a willingness to honestly self-reflect. Readiness and interest in looking for the deeper roots of your painful symptoms, a willingness to share vulnerably about what is not working in your life, accountability about how you might be playing a part in your relationship challenges, and a sincere interest in learning how to self-parent your inner child will significantly enhance your experience of depth therapy.
I am deeply committed to supporting your emotional healing process and aim to listen to your inner world as closely as possible. Yet, as you likely know, all emotional healing is ultimately self-healing, so the willingness to take responsibility for your well-being is essential for therapy to work. If you are equally committed to staying present to your deeper emotional self, your depth therapy sessions will likely be progressive and profound.
Calling All Parts Of You Back Home
In your depth therapy sessions, you will be compassionately supported to deeply explore your mind and body to understand how childhood maladaptive behaviour patterns cloud your ability to actualize your dreams and desires. We will also examine what is not working in your life right now, as this often points to subconscious blocks from the past.
Depth therapy aims to help you become aware of what has been cast out of your consciousness. Neglected and unloved aspects of self are most often at the root of emotional distress. Healing happens when what has been repressed, rejected, denied, or ignored is allowed to come forward so that you can accept the many facets of your personality and understand what you need. Once you find the emotional needs you have neglected, you can learn how to uniquely and adequately care for yourself and become the author of your transformation.
With love,
Shelley
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