What Others Say:

I have been a client and fan of Andrea for a number of years. She has helped me to live, love and play. L. L.

With Andrea's compassionate and insightful guidance, the obstacles that have prevented me from being the person I want to be are resolving. Andrea is a gifted healer who approaches issues with the right mix of common sense, understanding and skill. The results of my work with Andrea are tangible and well worth the investment. I wish I had started working with Andrea years ago! .. H. C. L.

 

Some Thoughts

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.
-- Henry David Thoreau

The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.
-- Carl Rogers

That which you are seeking is causing you to seek.
-- Cheri Huber

Techniques and Tools

In 30 years of practice, I have developed an effective toolbox of techniques including:

ball Mindfulness Practice www.mindfulness.com
ball Emotionally Focused Couples  
ball NET www.netmindbody.com
ball EMDR www.emdr.org
ball The Enneagram www.enneagraminstitute.com
ball Imago Relationship Therapy www.gettingtheloveyouwant.com

These and other tools coupled with my attentive presence, intuition, warmth, and clarity make me a trustworthy and inspiring guide.

Mindfulness Practice
Mindfulness is body-based awareness. When you are being mindful, you are aware of each experience in the body and mind and you stay with that experience, whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, such that you see what causes stress and harm to you or to another and what does not. I use mindfulness practice in my work to help you move under your stories to the felt experience of the sensation of emotion in your body. Breathing into the sensation leads you through to the experience of the emotion and allows it to release. Insight follows.

Mindfulness uses the wisdom of the body as a vehicle to unlock trapped emotions. Practicing mindfulness in daily life allows you to be less reactive and to build the muscle of returning to a centered place more easily.

beadsEmotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
lso known as emotion-focused therapy and process-experiential therapy, is a usually short-term (8–20 sessions) structured psychotherapy approach to working with individuals, couples, or families.

NET
(Neuro-Emotional Technique)

Emotions are part of the natural healthy response process we have to virtually every situation we encounter. However, sometimes challenging emotional experiences and physical vulnerabilities can create lingering stress in our mind-body architecture. Such stress can contribute to physical complaints, emotional difficulties and problems with goal achievement. The Neuro-Emotional Technique is a powerful intervention that can assess and alleviate the internal stressors that are creating barriers to health and success.

EMDR
(Eye Movement & Desensitization Reprocessing)

Eye Movement and Desensitization Reprocessing were originally designed to alleviate the symptoms associated with traumatic memories. After successful treatments with EMDR, affective distress is relieved, negative beliefs are reformulated and psychological arousal is reduced. EMDR uses cross lateral brain integration in the form of repetitive sets of eye movements or tapping or sounds coupled with an extensive system of protocols to produce emotional and cognitive changes that usually result in spontaneous behavioral and personal change.

Enneagram
This system can be used as a psycho-spiritual map to gain insight into, and to develop compassion for, yourself and others. It is based on nine distinct personality types. Learning to recognize which one you most resonate with can lead to greater awareness of the motivations behind your behavior. It has taught me to see my personality strategy as a system I developed to survive. Working with the enneagram helps me to laugh at myself and to know that I am more than my personality. The enneagram provides a succinct and clear vehicle to follow a path to change from unhealthy to healthy responses in daily life. It has also been invaluable in helping me to understand that each person has their own take on reality, based on their unique perception and to be more accepting and less judgmental of others,

Imago Relationship Therapy
Imago is a system that creates connection and promotes dialogue between people. Dialogue is the language of love in all relationships. The three steps of dialogue- mirroring, validating and empathizing, allow us to deeply listen and to experience being heard, to discover the other, to grow into our potential and to experience connection. Imago helps people to learn specific techniques to practice greater compassion, learn new communication skills to break destructive patterns of relating and to use their relationship for emotional healing and spiritual growth.