How My Practice Works

It has been my privilege to work with many individuals and couples on the challenges and problems they are attempting to deal with.

My approach to psychotherapy is based upon a thorough understanding and assessment of that self-system - and whether or not it is working well for you. Psychotherapy is, of course, but one path to personal growth, development, and evolution, which move us higher on that spiral.

Each of us functions at a certain level of development that can be assessed and mapped. Our development is often uneven and we tend to rely or our strengths and avoid our weaknesses if we can. Problems, challenges, and issues that we encounter, often occur in the less developed areas of our self-system. It is important for us to understand that we cannot solve problems on the same level at which they were created and change requires taking the next step up on the developmental spiral. The alternative is to seek treatment, which is palliative, that is, treatment which is aimed at reducing, managing or masking the symptoms created by the problem but there is often no fundamental improvement in the way the person functions.

How We Will Proceed

Should you choose to meet with me for a complimentary introductory session, my first task will be to get to know you and to understand what has brought you to the place that you are seeking treatment and support. This requires that I spend some time understanding and assessing you and your strengths and weaknesses and gain an understanding of the context in which the problems for which you seek therapy have occurred. I will share my view of the challenges you are facing, using a developmental framework, and at that point you will be in a better position to know whether you feel comfortable working with me, and also what your treatment will entail.

Our work will begin with my listening deeply to you and experiencing through and with you how you talk about and conceptualize the “problems” and obstacles you encounter. Within a few sessions we will be able to discuss the patterns underlying your behavior which govern the way you are living your life. The goal will be to set forth a plan for how we might work together to move you in a direction that is more satisfying and which embraces more fully who you really are. 

I will be asking you to maintain a dream journal in which you record your dreams in order for us to access the deepest levels of your psyche. You will be amazed at how profound an understanding of your core Self your dreams offer and the journey it lays out before you. Dreams provide key insights into the subtle factors which are influencing the way you see yourself and life that may be hindering your capacity to deal with the difficulties you face in life, often repeatedly.

"We are used to thinking of matter and spirit as of two wholly different and opposite principles. But to the alchemist, all matter was filled with spirit, and the two were inseparably one."

 ~Carl G.Jung, Modern Psychology, Alchemy, Lecture VII, Page 67

This stunning work, "The Alchemical Doors", by renowned fabric artist and IBU Movement founder and creator Susan Hull Walker hangs in Susan McClure's Charleston office.