TALKyoga
TALKyoga© is a therapeutic modality that I developed with a basis on the copious research supporting the efficacy of psychotherapy, movement therapies, and meditation and mindfulness techniques. It’s a unique integration of classic talk therapy (a.k.a. psychotherapy, counseling, therapy, psychology) with yoga and mindfulness practices. As indisputably potent as each of those are, they’re even more impactful together, when they’re carefully interwoven in a way that’s designed to harness that power and direct it at alleviating the specific struggle that you are confronting at this time in your life. This holistic healing approach combines all the great aspects of psychotherapy with the wonderful benefits of yoga and meditation on your emotional and mental wellbeing. It is custom-tailored to you and your unique set of circumstances —your goals, concerns, wishes, past experiences, personality, and style —in a way that no yoga class ever could. TALKyoga goes beyond what traditional therapy has to offer by tapping into the parts of your psyche that are not in your conscious awareness, that are hiding in different areas of your body, unable to be expressed verbally. Because your body has much to tell you, we just don’t always know how to listen.
I’m excited to be able to offer this somatic and movement method for healing. I have full faith and confidence in the power of TALKyoga to relieve your suffering through individualized sequences and asanas. And I’m optimistic about being able to help you reach santosha, a higher level of contentment and satisfaction with your life.
Just regular ol’ therapy
Yoga is for every body, but I acknowledge, it is not for everybody. If you prefer or feel more comfortable with tried-and-true classic psychotherapy, I can offer you more than 15 years of experience as a doctorate-level clinical psychologist. I’ve seen much success in the people that I’ve worked with throughout the years, and countless instances of improvement, change, and growth.
Regardless of which option you choose, traditional therapy or TALKyoga©, our treatment will be custom-tailored for you and your unique situation. Only you can describe what you’re struggling with and only you can decide how you define success.
I approach my work from an eclectic orientation. (Eclectic is a fancy word that therapists use to describe a grab-bag of different therapy strategies, tools and techniques, rather than adhering to any one manualized system or method.) This means I have a whole toolbox that I can draw from at any given time to provide you with what you need and will be most helpful throughout our work together. We’ll get creative, playful, experimental and experiential. I am, however, heavily influenced by the school of existential psychology, and tend to often see things through that lens. Really upbeat stuff like ‘neurotic anxiety’ and ‘existential paralysis.’ But it’s a lot more fun than it sounds. And it can be very liberating to view life in those terms, to find meaning in the way we are interacting with the world, and to make a choice to choose differently. So if that resonates with you, we’ll probably do a lot of that. If there’s something else that you know works for you, or that you’re really interested in trying, we can definitely explore. For example, if you want to use a CBT approach, we can do that. (But if you want full-on psychodynamic treatment, I am not your gal.)
My clients thrive when we design and customize our work for you, whether you are an individual, a family, a group, a couple, or a parent/guardian-and-child dyad. We can also do great work when we individualize our game-plan for you, no matter what age you are.
Services are also available en español, and I also provide immigration hardship evaluations & reports.
To schedule your free phone consultation,
text me 828-82-PSYCH (828-827-7924)
or
If we decide to work together, this is what you’ll receive:
- A list of questions that guides you through a thoughtful assessment of how your life has led you to the point at which you find yourself today. Clarifying how you got here will help you figure out exactly where you are, and where you want to head next.
- A 60-minute sit down with me to go over the results of these questions and talk about your concerns and goals.
- Together we’ll fill out The Mandala of Santosha©, a tool that I developed that will reveal to you exactly what’s keeping you unhappy, and will show us what we need to do to change that.
- An agreed-upon number of therapy sessions. A “therapy hour” of clinical guidance in which a professional psychologist focuses solely on you, on the unpacking and exploration of your life’s themes and patterns. Through collaborative reflection, we’ll examine your past and current roles, and your sense of Self (your identity, who you think you are, and who you want to be). You will learn to set and evaluate personal resolutions, and to ultimately choose happiness.
- A medical diagnosis if you want it.
- Supplemental resources as needed.
Additionally, in each session, you can choose as much or as little of the following somatic, meditative, and artistic components:
- Asanas (poses) that target your specific areas of psychic or emotional discomfort or pain
- A yoga sequence designed specifically for you and your needs on that particular day
- Pranayama (breath and breathwork)
- Guided meditation
- Mindfulness exercises
- Writing/journaling prompts, questions and assignments
- Therapeutic art techniques
- Relaxation strategies, play methods, etc…
- Practice exercises, homework assignments or “experiments”
How long will it take? Some people choose to engage in short-term therapy. For them, I have limited-duration series available (8, 12, 16 sessions, etc). Others prefer to see their therapist as part of their ongoing support system, and to keep therapy as a regular part of their wellness regimen, similar to periodically getting acupuncture, haircuts, or dental cleanings. For them, I may offer weekly or biweekly sessions. And still others like to employ a combination of the two, coming in for a few weeks or months during times of heightened stress, or for the occasional “booster” or maintenance session.
After we’ve done some good work together, it is my hope and expectation that you will feel empowered, capable and resilient, equipped with powerful new tools for effectively coping with the challenges life will throw at you. Because it will.
If this sounds good to you, contact me to see whether I have space currently available. I dedicate a large portion of my practice to providing reduced-rate services, and you can find my listing in The Open Path Collective, which is an organization of therapists trying to change the world by creating greater access to affordable mental health care for everyone. However, I currently have no more discounted-fee slots available. Let me know if you would like me to place your name on the waitlist for when one of these slots opens up.
To request a consultation,
text me 828-82-PSYCH (828-827-7924)
or
Our collaboration…
Some things I’m really good at:
- Trauma and PTSD (including related to race/LGBTQIA+, relationship violence, sexual assault, combat…)
- Life transitions (move, college, divorce, marriage, parenthood…)
- Anxiety and stress
- Depression and mood
- Perfectionism and procrastination
- Anger
- Immigration and acculturation
- Racial trauma and identity
People I love to work with:
- Kids (behavioral issues, parenting, adoption…)
- Adults (overwhelm, burnout, phase of life, perfectionism, sense of failure, loneliness…)
- Older Adults (aging, retirement, illness…)
- Families and couples (conflict, communication problems, parental guilt…)
- People of the Global Majority (POC / BIPOC)
- Spanish-speakers
Not sure if this is for you?
Just imagine what it will be like to have the life that you want. Picture yourself feeling contentment and satisfaction in your daily life and in your relationships with your family, partner, children, friends, and more importantly, with yourself. Now imagine what your life will be like in six months, a year, five years, if you continue to do what you’re doing and ignore how you’re feeling —or leave it on the back burner for another couple of years. In other words, if you choose to do nothing to help yourself. Will you feel any differently than you feel now? Will you feel better? Same? Worse? You know what they say about insanity—it is continuing to do the exact same thing and expecting different results. If what you’re doing isn’t working for you, why not try something different?
SAY YES.
To see whether we might be a good fit,
text me 828-82-PSYCH (828-827-7924)
or
¡DI QUE SÍ!
It’s a no-brainer: if you want something you’ve never had,
you’re going to have to do something you’ve never done before.
Featured time-limited module:
• Six-session series for productivity and inspiration for young adults
Perfect for people going to college, in college, or recently (whatever that means) out of college.
You’re not looking to enter into ongoing therapy, but you could use a little push in the right direction at this point of your life. Everyone keeps asking you what you want to do with your life. Even if you know, how do you get there? Find the focus, self-confidence, motivation, and drive that you need in order to make sound decisions and achieve your #lifegoals, without having to invest a large amount of time or money in long-term therapy.
Contact me to ask about availability.
• Series for perfectionists —you’ll lower your standards and thank me for it
You know who you are!
You can’t get started on anything because everything needs to be perfectly set up before you can take the first step. You fear embarking on any project out of fear of failure. (Or fear of success!) And you define every small imperfection as failure. Your paralysis keeps you from accomplishing anything. You feel that nothing is good enough, let alone perfect. You are constantly judging yourself —and others. Being a perfectionist is not making your life better or easier, it is shooting yourself in the foot. Shake yourself out of this harmful rut and make great, imperfect strides toward finding satisfaction and acceptance, and appreciating life, in all it’s messiness.
Contact me to ask about availability.
