“The longest journey you will ever take is the 18 inches from your head to your heart.”
— Andrew Bennet
Experiential Therapy in the Boulder Area
Through my own therapeutic work, I’ve found therapy is not something that happens to me, but something I experience through engagement, investigation, and curiosity. It’s hands on - experienced in the body, not just the mind - tangible, exhilarating, connecting, and felt.
The acceleration of my growth inspired me to bring the techniques I was learning to my clients. Rather than simply talking about feelings and experiences, I work with my clients to help them make the transition from their heads into their hearts and body.
Experiential therapy matches cognitive insights with knowledge gained through action methods used to tune into the body. It’s frequently used to treat chemical and behavioral addictions, grief, family systems issues, trauma, behavior, and anger management.
My Boulder-area experiential therapy practice leverages various expressive tools, activities, and re-enactment of emotional situations from the past, present or future to facilitate integration. In my practice, I use a combination of art, sculpting, props, role-playing, music, and guided imagery. By using both talk and experiential therapy, I help my clients reduce anxiety, create more fulfilling relationships, and build the life they want.
What Is Experiential Therapy?
At the heart of experiential therapy is the idea that our perceptions of the world and our life experiences shape our actions. Each of us has the opportunity to revisit our suppressed negative emotions and thoughts from our histories. Turning towards that challenge starts a process of emotional release that allows us to more easily embrace positive feelings like forgiveness, affection, and serenity for ourselves and for others.
The main goal is to identify new and creative ways to walk through historic issues and use spontaneity to work through hard situations with less shame, building more connection to ourselves and others.
To start, I engage my clients in sociometric activities that, at first glance, seem unrelated to healing and therapy, but allow them to warm up to the therapeutic process. As a client participates in these exercises they express their thoughts and feelings, and in doing so, they uncover hidden emotions, usually linked to past trauma.
As their partner on this journey, I observe and point out aspects of their reactions that are important building blocks in their healing. Once the client starts to get into the therapeutic flow, we use role-play to continue to unlock feelings and emotions that aren’t accessible through discussion alone. This process helps the client move toward a new awareness and a deeper understanding of their emotions, giving them agency to let go and heal.
Is Experiential Therapy Right for You?
Through my work with my Boulder-area practice, I have found that experiential therapy is effective if you:
Have experienced past physical or sexual trauma
Have multiple concurrent diagnoses, including addiction
Find it challenging to discuss past events
Struggle to convey your feelings without heightened emotions like anger or defensiveness interfering
Experience a sense of joy and comfort when elements like animals, art, and music play a role in your healing journey
Experiential therapy is a contemporary and widely used therapy that addresses mental health and addiction in a way that embraces the entire individual—body, mind, and spirit. I offer experiential therapy in my Boulder-area practice as a tool to empower you to revisit past incidents and move through the painful feelings those thoughts and memories evoke.
As your therapist, I will be at your side throughout your journey, helping you get through the darkness so you can grow towards a deeper and more compassionate understanding of yourself. This work helps you learn to forgive yourself and progress towards a more optimistic view of the future.
Though moving beyond trauma or addiction is not an easy journey, it is a meaningful and purpose-driven one. When you do this work, at points along the path you will look back at the past and realize that you have converted it into your most valuable tool for life.. That’s when you start to feel renewed confidence and compassion for yourself and are able to move toward a brighter future.
Let’s Work Together
I would be honored to walk with you on your journey. Reach out to schedule a free 20 minute consultation to learn more about how I can help you build the life you want.