Professional Counseling

People House is pleased to offer an excellent team of psychotherapists, counselors and facilitators that provide individual sessions for the purpose of healing and personal and/or spiritual growth. Our practitioners use a holistic approach that acknowledges all aspects of the self – mind, body, and spirit – to create deep and lasting change in your life. An array of conventional and alternative modalities is available with specialized experience and expertise in dealing with issues such as depression, anxiety, chronic fear, eating disorders, somatic illness, parenting, and life path support. Sessions are scheduled directly with each counselor.

Click a practitioner's name below to learn more about him or her and view his/her contact information.

You may also review the Specialties section or the Modalities section to learn more about different types of counseling and facilitation used.

Practitioners List


Specialties List

For Your Convenience ... Our practitioners listed three of their specialties from the following list. This does not mean that they do not work with the remaining issues or other issues not listed, but only that they have particular expertise and/or experience in the listed areas. Please click on any of the following for a list of practitioners who specialize in the following issues:


Modalities: Types of Counseling and Facilitation Available

In addition to traditional insight-oriented psychotherapy, and education in communication and life skills, Facilitators and Counselors at People House may incorporate a number of other techniques into their work with you

A few of these are:


Gestalt

The theory of Gestalt Therapy takes as its centerpiece two ideas. The first is that the proper focus of psychology is the experiential present moment. In contrast to approaches which look at the unknown and even unknowable, our perspective is the here and now of living. The second idea is that we are inextricably caught in a web of relationship with all things. It is only possible to truly know ourselves as we exist in relation to other things. These twin lenses, here-and-now awareness and the interactive field, define the subject matter of Gestalt therapy. Its theory provides a system of concepts describing the structure and organization of living in terms of aware relations. Its methodology, techniques, and applications link this outlook to the practice of Gestalt therapy. The result is a psychology and method with a rich and unique view of everyday life, the depths and difficulties which life encompasses, and "the high side of normal," the ennobling and most creative heights of which we are capable. Gestalt therapists believe their approach is uniquely capable of responding to the difficulties and challenges of living, both in its ability to relieve us of some measure of our misery and by showing the way to some of the best we can achieve.

Transpersonal Psychology

Transpersonal psychology is a relatively new field of psychology that incorporates the realm of spirit in the process of helping people realize their full potential. "Transpersonal" literally means "beyond the personal", indicating that both our human experience and a greater framework beyond it are included. That greater framework may include your view of God, religious practices, mystical experiences, altered states of consciousness, or any other part of your experience that has meaning to you. This philosophy maintains that our being is both spiritual and psychological in nature . we are all spiritual beings on a journey of human experience. Our psychological make-up is what makes us human, but it does not incorporate all that we are. Our spiritual essence holds the potential for transcendence of the self as currently experienced. Consciousness is a vast, multidimensional existence wherever new aspects of being are manifested on the path to discovering our true spiritual nature. Transpersonal psychology does not view life as a series of random events that just happen for no reason. Events in our lives are rich with purpose and meaning, with the goal of learning about our true essence, and to transcend fear and separation to find love and oneness with the universe. Knowing that experiences in our lives have a purpose can help to get through tough times. From the Transpersonal Psychology perspective, psychological problems that are encountering are not seen as a problem to be fixed, but are indications that a greater potential within is unfolding. The intensity of symptoms relates to the intensity of the healing process. Our goal is not to simply stop symptoms, but to embrace them for a time to see what they want to teach us. They are pointing the way to healing and growth in our lives

Hakomi

The Hakomi Method allows the hidden beliefs and unexpressed emotions which shape our lives and relationships to emerge safely into consciousness. Once conscious, they can be directly experienced and re-evaluated, and new dimensions of awareness can be integrated. Hakomi therapy is based on principles that honor the individual: Mind/Body/Spirit Holism affirms that the mind and body jointly hold emotions and reflect beliefs. Honoring the spiritual element is often important in transformation. Unity assumes that all parts of the individual are interconnected, and we all live in an interdependent system. Organicity states that inner wisdom and innate health naturally emerge in a safe and supportive environment. Mindfulness is used to induce a relaxed state of heightened awareness that allows the client to go beyond habitual thoughts and actions to the richly non-verbal intuitions of our deeper truths. Non-Violence promotes a safe, non-forceful cooperation between therapist and client. Transformation occurs when awareness is turned toward felt, present experience. Hopes and fears unfold into consciousness, barriers to new ways of being are removed, and new experiences are integrated which allow for the reorganization of core beliefs.

Hypnotherapy

Hypnotherapy is a tool for creating a very relaxed and internally focused state of consciousness which allows access to the deepest layers of the psyche. This is like accessing the programs written on the hard drive of a computer. It allows us to discover and update old programing which creates natural and effortless changes in life patterns and behaviors.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)

EMDR is a method of trauma resolution that incorporates bilateral brain stimulation in the form of eye movement, sound, or physical stimulus (hand sensors). EMDR is a simple technique for accessing trauma and the dysfunctional beliefs associated with it and "reprocessing," or clearing the charge and beliefs from the psyche. Because it tends to bypass the mind, it is very fast and effective.

Energy Psychology

Enneagram

The Enneagram is the most powerful system of transformational psychology available today. This practical yet elegant view of humanity describes nine basic personality types and their relationships with one another. It goes beyond mere descriptions of personality to provide a dynamic, compassionate and comprehensive guide for living your own life and interacting with others.

One strength of the Enneagram is its uncanny wisdom which helps us comprehend emotional styles and our feelings and conduct toward others. This counters a significant weakness in the business world today: the inability to address emotions effectively in the workplace. Not understanding why others communicate the way they do leads to personalizing behavior, creating hard feelings and misunderstanding. Emotional frustrations are at the heart of many complications, including: defective attitude, poor communication, unproductive behavior, as well as lost profits due to poor customer relationships.

Ignoring these issues doesn't make them go away; the Enneagram can address them directly. The Enneagram doesn't attempt to solve problems, but rather provides knowledge and tools for people to resolve their own conflicts. It also teaches understanding about our habitual mental patterns, motivations, and the natural strengths of each personality type. This leads to personal growth in understanding, self acceptance and confidence and thus work and personal lives can become more effective and satisfying.

Relational Life Therapy

Relational Life Therapy (RLT) is a mode of couple's coaching that looks at respect, compassion and cherishing as the necessary components for relationship. Unlike other models, in RLT, we take into account the out of date relational attitudes of men and women. These out of date attitudes mean that women often don't speak up effectively and men tend not to listen to their women. In RLT we deal with these attitudes and assist the couple in seeing that the out of date skills and attitudes are part of what is standing in the way of their success.

We look at what kind of dance the couple creates in their relationship. This dance is one that is not helpful or beneficial to the smooth functioning of communication within the couple. It is the reason you have the ongoing, never ending same fight over and over again. Additionally, RLT looks at what kind of losing strategies you are using to attempt to make your relationship work. There are five losing strategies you might use, and they ensure no one in the relationship is happy. Lastly, we work helping couples learn how to listen to each other with respect, compassion and cherishing.

In RLT, the therapist will determine how each person is “off” in the relationship. Meaning, what stands in the way of each person - what is it that the person does that makes them non-relational in their interactions. Often, how and where we learned this method of communication and expectations comes from our family of origin. An RLT therapist looks at the family of origin information long enough to help you understand where and how you learned the non-relational way of interacting and how it no longer benefits or serves you. Usually one person has to start the process of looking at how their off and – sorry guys – we usually start with you. Why? Because you have had the least amount of coaching about how to be relational. It isn't some deficit, it is simply needing skill building and a new way to look at relationship.

Written by Dee Marcotte, MS, MA, LPC

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