Reconnection with Nature is about re-establishing our innate bond with the natural world, in all it’s replenishing, regenerative rightness & richness. A breath of fresh air, the sight of some greenery, a walk in the park, a dance with some waves, the sound of geese calling, the sight of the moon, recognizing ourselves as part of the great family of EarthlingKind, with our own place in Earth’s wonderful web of life: these are pathways to wholeness we carry within our DNA.

Our DNA also offers us an older, wiser mammmalian brain & myriad sensory capacities to help us make sense of our life, moment by moment. Connecting deeply with Nature, as our earthling selves, with rich sensory knowledge & a birthright to be whole, is transformative because it’s the bedrock & the heart of wholeness, survival & thrival for all life on Earth, including us.

Talk therapy is about telling our stories, & through the telling, discover the meaning. Unwrapping the package of meaning allows us to explore the congnitive assumptions & contact the underlying feelings. Talk therapy is transformative because a deeper awareness of internal states takes root, supporting the growth of a mature Self.

Hypnotherapy is about time travel: about meeting ourself in our past, present, or future, with our critical voice deactivated for the moment. Suspending critical thought allows us to experience ourselves as we could be, if only we could get out of our own way. Hypnosis allows us to play “what if I could...” (ace that exam, give that speech, perform that piece, have more confidence, feel less pain, relax more fully, sleep more deeply, break that habit, solve that probem, make that wise choice, feel differently about that horrible moment, etc)? Hypnotherapy is transformative because it allows us to experience ourselves as the capable, empowered persons we were meant to be.

Cognitive therapy is about changing how we think about something, which changes how we experience it. Cognitive therapy is also about changing our self-talk. The stories we tell ourselves about ourselves & the world affect profoundly the way we experience life: how we feel & how we respond often flow directly from the stories we spin about who & what we are, & who & what others are. Cognitive therapy is transformative because changing how we think about things can change our lives.

Somatic therapy is about coming home to the physical residence of our soul: about listening to the stories we carry in our bodies, about becoming comfortable inside our own skin. We are creatures with physical bodies, and our bodies carry the etching of our life story. For some of us, that picture is complicated, with manifestations of impacted trauma energy & psychosomatic pain. Somatic therapy is transformative because releasing the movements & sounds our bodies  yearn to make, can clear the way for peace with Self to thrive. 

Psychodrama is about acting out: about the catharsis of telling-it-like-it-is from deep inside, with no rules, no limits & no requirements to be nice. In a safe space, we can externalize our frustration & pain without hurting anyone or anything. Psychodrama allows us to experience what we wish we could say or do.  Psychodrama is transformative because experiencing that which we wish, & externalizing that which was stuck, enables us either to act upon it, or let it go.

Play therapy is about letting that little kid inside us finally have some say. Listening to the voice & feeling the feelings of that historical child, through puppet play, sand tray, make-believe, movement, & sound, allows us to comprehend our deepest, oldest convictions about ourselves & our world. Play therapy is transformative because awareness of previously unconscious scripts enables us to formulate new beliefs.

Bi-lateral stimulation (including “emdr”) is about transforming trauma energy or painful feelings, past or present, by stimulating parts of our brain alternately. This can reduce stress, redirect thoughts, calm the mind & facilitate new understanding of old events. My personal hypothesis is that bilateral stimulation techniques facilitate communication between the new brain (neocortex) and it’s verbal stories, and the sensory truths locked away in the older brain’s memory cache. Reintroducing the parts of our brain to each other is like facilitating conversation between folks who shared a painful event but haven’t been able to speak with each other about it: when all parties compare notes & weave a cohesive tale, understanding of the event is enriched and all parties are relieved.  The bilateal stimulation can be eye movement (as with “emdr,” which stands for Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing), or it can be tapping on knees, arms or shoulders, or alternating a sound between ears. Bilateral stimulation techniques are transformative because they facilitate information processing, thereby  relieving our pain & enhancing our understandng of our lived experience.

Emotional freedom technique (“eft”) is about mending the glitch in our electromagnetic energy field, caused by  painful feelings. Tapping on specific accupressure points seems to mend the glitch. EFT is particularly powerful for management of cravings, anxiety, panic, & phobias. EFT is transformative because it gives us choice about when, where, how intensely & even whether, to feel our painful feelings. In general, more choice is preferable to less choice.

Reiki is an ancient system of hands-on healing, using universal life force energy for a specific purpose. Reiki’s origin is unknown, but clear references to this healing process exist in ancient Buddhist texts. Many Reiki practitioners believe this was the healing energy used by Buddha & Jesus, & that this energy is available to all humans as part of our human birthright. Reiki is inherently transformative across all spectra of human experience.

Rites of Passage & Rituals are  about noticing something specific, with extraordinary intensity, in an intentional mileau: to release that which no longer serves us well, to welcome that which we yearn to embrace, to declare intention, encourage growth, honour change, integrate insight.... A ritual can be about almost anything. Rituals allow us to mark the meanings of the moments of our lives. Ritual is transformative because it heightens our awareness, hones our intent, connects us to something larger than ourselves & replenishes the wellspring of our soul.

Privacy Policy

hope-of-rain@islandnet.com

affordable counselling & psychotherapy for adults of all genders

in a space that’s wheelchair-accessible & fragrance-free

The photograph on this page belongs to the photographer & is part of her livlihood. Please don’t duplicate it.