Transformational Healing

My clients come from a wide range of backgrounds and have very interesting life stories to tell.  Some have turned life’s lemons into lemonade.  Some seem to have had lives that are relatively easy.  Many carry stories buried deep within, wherein an earlier hurt or trauma affects them today in ways that they do not understand, or brings forth a pattern of behavior which for them is no longer functional.

For example, a person may respond by outbursts of seemingly uncontrolled anger with a spouse or a child, wherein the provoking incident was relatively minor.  Or a person may suffer from crippling anxiety or depressive symptoms.  Alternatively, he or she may engage in escapism behaviors which have taken the form of an addiction.  I like to think of an addiction as continuing to do something that is bad for you (and those around you) repeatedly, despite knowing of its harmful effects.

In my practice, I have always been on a quest to help a person find the most effective relief from problems, as soon as possible.  I searched out this method of  transformational healing after years of seeking ever more knowledge about the consequences of complex trauma, and how to help a person heal.  A hypnotherapist  and author from California named Marilyn Gordon put together a very comprehensive model of healing that brings together methods and knowledge from many traditions.  I had the great good fortune to have an opportunity to learn from her, and am now bringing this into my practice.  I am finding that traumas from long ago that are affecting the present can often be collapsed in intensity, and then various resources can be brought to bear to help heal and transform the painful behaviors and outcomes in a person’s present life. This seems to be able to occur, with the aid of a person’s subconscious awareness, over a relatively short period of time.  This model is one that I use as one part of a person’s treatment.  It may be the whole focus, or it may be one part of individual psychotherapy, or one segment of what is done in family therapy, if one of the parties is “stuck” in certain behaviors or emotions.

This is how it works.  After a period of information-gathering about the past, the present and future hopes for change, the therapist and client collaborate to decide upon the most salient issue or issues to be addressed, and to define the most desired outcome.  Then, using some simple techniques to access the creative imagination, we work to discover the inner resistance to change.  (Often, a person has been trying to change, for a long time, before getting to my office.)  Then, we use a technique called  ”Wise Mind” to find out more about the problem and what it means to the person’s life.  We begin to create a clearer image of what life would be like without this problem, and describe and clarify the desired changes.  We also discover the deeper emotion behind the problem.

Once we have discovered this emotion, we use  a specialized variation of the Emotional Freedom technique to collapse the intensity of the emotion’s impact.  This can bring great and sometimes lasting relief very quickly.  Sometimes just this part of Transformational Healing is al that is needed. Sometimes, it just reduces the magnitude and intensity of the problem, to make it more manageable.  We then go into greater depth, if needed and appropriate, to eliminate energetically the root causes of the issue.

The next portion of the Transformational Healing model relies on the process of hypnotherapy.  After the client is helped to access a deep state of relaxation, we explore the underlying issues or stories that contribute to the present day problem.  We work to do this in a safe way.  We also bring in various healing resources to help the person transform the hurts from the past, to heal the psychological wounds, and to learn from the past, view it differently, and move forward in a more healthy way.  Interestingly, the information about how to heal and grow and change comes mostly from the client’s own mind;  the therapist is merely a guide.  The therapist is also a taker of notes about the information gained in this sequence.

The final  portion of the Transformational Healing model solidifies the information and the changes by teaching self-hypnosis.  A tape or CD is made which instructs in self-hypnosis and incorporates the information and changes developed throughout the entire process.  The client can then use this on a regular basis in the privacy of his or her home.

Eckard Tolle is a best-selling author who writes about the power of now.  We cannot   change the past, we can only change our view of the past.  We cannot live in the future, for it has not arrived yet.  But, we can create an intention for change, and the power  lies in the present moment.

I believe and see evidence that this is a very powerful tool to use the Now to create a more healthy and loving future.

I offer individual, family, and couples therapy which we can discuss how to apply the above principal to your life. Please contact me for any inquiries.