Theoretical Orientation

Both Whitney and Adam utilize an approach that can be described as integrative, with specialties in Jungian, analytical, archetypal, or depth-oriented psychotherapies, including psychodynamic or psychoanalytic therapies. All of these traditions emphasize the importance of unconscious processes in symptoms, suffering, healing, and transformation, with a special emphasis on the value of dreams. We also have strong backgrounds in somatic, humanistic, person-centered, cognitive-behavioral, and mindfulness-based perspectives. It is most important to us to support our clients in a caring, personal, and professional manner, meeting them with compassion and understanding where it matters most.

 

For those who desire additional skills and practices that might improve their mental health, we are happy to introduce them to a wealth of practices and resources from an integrative and holistic perspective that are known to increase emotional regulation, affect tolerance, and improve overall wellbeing. We bring an awareness of neurological and somatic factors into the therapeutic process, applying polyvagal theory and lessons from various somatic psychotherapies to ensure that we tend to the body and its needs, as symptoms often manifest and express themselves through the body. We recognize that mindfulness is the foundation and cornerstone of emotional regulation, and that successful therapy often requires that we safely revisit the past by ensuring we are firmly rooted in the present, resolving troublesome defenses or adaptations that might not serve us by replacing them with healthier ones. Ultimately, the therapeutic process itself is crucial to the creation of a new, meaningful narrative that ties together our past, present, and future.

 

In depth-oriented therapy, both client and therapist attune to our inner worlds so that we might hear what the soul is calling for through its symptoms and dreams. We want to ask what purpose symptoms might have, and what dreams have come to teach us. The depth perspective considers that each of us has a true self, or objective personality, which is the vital core of our personality. Life brings inherently challenging and traumatic experiences that sometimes create dynamics in the psyche where we lose touch with the true self, and so the goal of therapy is to work through those challenges so that we can reclaim sacred parts of our personalities, histories, and a sense of vitality and wellbeing. The depth-oriented therapeutic process is designed to follow the psyche's calling by turning towards the unconscious, so we can hear and tend to the soul's needs.

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