Greetings, and welcome to the world of Holistic Integrative Therapy!

Often, we find ourselves struggling with issues of self-worth, feeling others or circumstances are pressing us down, anger, and/or a sense of numbness or disconnection. Much of this angst can come from our nervous system coping with past trauma or accumulated distress. Some of us may be dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and its lingering physical, mental, and emotional side-effects. While we may know that distress and trauma can be unavoidable; still it has its effects. Over time we feel more and more unsafe and have less room to move in life.

When we feel unsafe we act from fight-or-flight, a biological reaction programmed into our cells. In this up-regulated state, we are supercharged to fight or flee, not think. In an unexpected encounter with a bear, fight-or-flight is normal and useful. In interactions with our spouses or bosses, it often makes the situation worse.

In the face of shock, the unexpected, or unsettling events, most of us do what our parents modeled for us: we stuff it and carry on. Two things then happen: first, the trauma lodges in our vagal nerve, the largest nerve in the body. This is a real blockage that keeps us from feeling and moving on. Second, in response to this stuckness we write a new story about ourselves, and then we begin to live within the limits of the story and the constrained nervous system. Often, these stories are about powerlessness, victimhood, and settling for a “meh” life.

With practice, however, we can learn to release built-up trauma, and rewrite our stories. We can release unhelpful patterns; reduce anxiety, depression, and negative thinking; and embrace lives of satisfaction, contentment, and creativity.

Based in Durango, Colorado, I offer individual and couples’ counseling to people who are ready to find peace and hope in a troubled world.

Holistic Integrative Therapy is built upon the supposition that if we remember that we are powerful enough to rewrite our lives, what could we create for ourselves?