The Unselfish Journey
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The Unselfish Journey

Individual Supervision

Can I see another's woe, and not be in sorrow too? Can I see another's grief, and not seek for kind relief? -- William Blake
 

Being a psychotherapist means being present to one who is suffers. We have the privilege of being a witness to some of the most horrid experiences a person might have. But we also get to witness the transformation of that suffering into their new freedom in being themselves.

We need to earn the right to be invited into such a space with someone. In my view, allowing ourselves to be affected by "another's woe" is essential to the work of being an effective psychotherapist. I will come alongside you to help you develop the capacity to make use of your humanity, even while (of course) maintaining the necessary legal/ethical boundaries essential to the profession. Becoming a better therapist is not about techniques-- though those can come in handy at times, but about learning how to meet a person in and through their pain, and to encourage their true self to dare to emerge. As Martin Buber said, "All real life is meeting." 

 

Photo by monkeybusinessimages/iStock / Getty Images
Photo by monkeybusinessimages/iStock / Getty Images
 
 

What you will get

What individual supervision gives you that group does not, is a concentrated effort to focus on one or two patients at a time. In that vein, I would offer the following:

  1. a non-shaming learning environment in the depth psychological tradition
  2. insight into the specific unconscious operating principles at work in a patient
  3. discernment into the transference-countertransference dynamics in your own clinical relationships, and most importantly: how to make use of them.
  4. the sharpening of your clinical ear
  5. an eye to helping you discern your best clinical posture, and enacting it
 
 

Group Consultation

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has."  -- Margaret Meade

Perhaps it is a bit unusual to quote a cultural anthropologist to frame my idea of group consultation, but nevertheless I am... unusual. I believe that small groups are a powerful vehicle for growth and change. And that, if it has any worth whatsoever, that very transformation should spill over not only into our personal relationships, but also into our social relationships. If we, as a small group of clinicians can become more conscious of what is happening dynamically in the room with patients, perhaps we can also become more conscious of what is happening dynamically in the world. (Especially, in such a time as this.) Most importantly, if we commit to living into that growing consciousness more authentically and wholistically , well-- why wouldn't we change the world? Or at least a small portion of it.

And so I invite you to consider joining a consultation group with me.

What you will get

What you get from group consultation, that you do not get in individual, is being part of a learning community. What I offer:

  1. non-shaming experience of growth in a learning community with a depth psychological perspective

  2. a safe space for many voices to inform your clinical practice

  3. sharpening your clinical ear in listening to other cases

  4. fine tuning your clinical intuition and an increased capacity to trust it

  5. weekly reading materials and discussion

  6. getting to know other practitioners

 

Fall 2017

This Fall, I am offering two kinds of consultation groups

 

Case consultation

2 Hours - 10 weeks - $200/month

In a group context, you will bring current cases with whom you are working, being careful to withhold any possible personal identification of your patients. As a group, we will discuss what is possibly happening in your relationship so that you will have better clarity on how to work. We will seek to understand the multi-dimensions of the person, so as to best be present to their process. And we will intentionally link theory with practice, when relevant. Patient comes first, always.

 

Trauma from a Depth Perspective

2 hours - 10 weeks - $200/Month

This group will be divided into two parts. The first hour, through readings, I will introduce you to the fundamentals of working with trauma from a depth perspective. In the second hour, you will bring a current case which includes trauma as a presenting "problem". As a group, we will discuss what is possibly happening in your relationship so that you will have better clarity on how to work. We will seek to understand the multi-dimensions of the person, so as to best be present to their process. And we will intentionally link practice with the trauma theory from a depth perspective, when relevant. Patient comes first, always.