My
Practice Philosophy
Choosing Me as Your Psychotherapist/Psychiatrist
WHAT IS A PRACTICE
PHILOSOPHY?
It is a way of seeing people and introducing them to seeing themselves
in that way. It is a path that to be real and effective must bear
fruition as a sense of newness, insight and A Ha! That encourages lo
ve
and connection, understanding and a sense of greater capacity in the
being in the world, that generates respect for self and others and deepens
the experience of aliveness and awareness. That for me is my practice
philosophy--a person-by-person encounter, not mediated by dogma, psychopathological
classification, or rigid view, but by an appreciation of the person and
a generative appreciation of the person for themselves. It is spiritual
in the sense of enlivening and expanding. It is psychedelic in
the sense of highlighting what is hidden but available to mind. It
is reflective in that one seeks to know oneself in the deepest, most
riveting, constant awareness manner. It is dispassionate in that
if frees from bias, prejudice and unconscious attitudes, and repetitive
patterns that estrange from knowing. It is healing in that it exposes
trauma that has damaged and can be recognized as keeping oneself smaller
and frightened. It is freedom in that it leads to the fulfilling-ness
of precious emptiness, Buddha nature and inspired improvisation. This
is what I want for you, and want to have with you for myself.
PSYCHOTHERAPY
Psychotherapy is a reciprocal dance. For over forty years I have
been learning about me and you, and from you about how to be and not
to be, and how to extend myself to you to further your being. There
is no one psychotherapy work formula for me or for you, yet there are
methodologies that assist and substances that support growth, change
and an alleviation of suffering. In commencing the work of psychotherapy
together, I dedicate myself to you and attempt to provide in myriad ways
based on my personal history, and from being a psychotherapist this long,
with my own synthesis of the learning and the methods I have absorbed,
with the reflection of these back to you. I try for respect and
recognize that confrontation and acceptance are both aspects of the path.
I attempt to practice the interpersonal method known as Non-Violent Communication. There
are no expectations of you other than to show up, spend the time and
work out the fee. Yet to not have greater expectations is to miss the
point that we are in constant flux and change and that there are better
directions, more enlightening ways, greater freedom for mind, highs that
transcend, and love that softens and also excites. Psychotherapy at its
best assists in the exploration of possibilities and the development
of heartful sensitivity. It is interactional at its core and the
relationship between us is a source for awareness and change, for enhancing
the ability to communicate feelings of all sorts, practicing this in
a safe harbor.
VALUES AND TECHNIQUES
Psychotherapy is not a science despite claims to that effect. In essence,
it is a complex of many views of students of mind and behavior. Each
practitioner of psychotherapy has accessed only a small number of the
components of this vast complex. There are methods such as psychoanalytic
psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy,
object relations psychotherapy, gestalt psychotherapy, radical therapy,
etc, etc. There are techniques such as role playing, psychodrama,
EMDR, abreaction, Ericksonian hypnosis—to name a bare bones few. Each
has adherents and its vogue. Of all the studies of mind, the 2500
year long reflection on mind of the Buddhist meditative schools is the
most detailed, descriptive, and applicable for a psychotherapy that should
lead somewhere. And ultimately that somewhere should be better, happier,
with less suffering and greater awareness. Those who view therapy
as value-less and its practitioners as neutral beings fail to recognize
historical, cultural, personal and philosophical determinants. Psychotherapists
are human beings who practice within a personal history and have views,
methods, and hang-ups, which should not intrude as prejudice or guidance
for their people. In choosing a psychotherapist for yourself, these
are consideration-as well as availability, compassion, strength, intelligence
and independence—a psychotherapist must not have a personal need for
a relationship with you. That is for the psychotherapist to take
care of outside of their work.
WHAT I OFFER
I practice in many formats, including brief individual and problem solving
therapies, long-term analytic individual, couples, and family therapies.
I do my own form of transformative psychodynamic psychotherapy evolved
over time and experience with many teachers and with so many precious
people who have come into my practice. I have been a consultant/facilitator
for communes, and a variety of businesses. I am expert in psychopharmacology
and continue to enjoy being a physician and a practitioner of complementary
medicine in a selective fashion. Having run alternative, Laingian oriented
facilities for those in altered states of mind and having been a part
of the Spiritual Emergency Network at its inception, I continue to
work with individuals and their families who are in emotional crisis. I
love teaching mindfulness meditation and doing guided, imaginative
trance work. Because of my personal experience with cancer and grief
and having lost my oldest son Noah to leukemia when he was sixteen,
I offer myself to those who are struggling with critical illness, dying
and loss. I am interested in assisting those with illness in
accessing the best possible care and in handling the stress and personal/family
aspects of illness.
