Counseling and psychotherapy take place in a unique relationship where we work together to deepen the meaning of your experiences, ease your suffering, and further illuminate your sense of purpose. When I meet you, I will also be interested in learning about the historical paths that brought you here, the living terrain of where you stand now, and how you see the possibilities for passage into your future. Later, we may deepen our conversation, so that you resolve the pain of your past, and become more fully present to your own being, relationships, and projects. My approach to therapy is broadly humanistic and is informed by phenomenological (i.e., client-centered and Gestalt), existential, and psychoanalytic understandings of human being.  This means that I am committed to understanding your concerns in an accepting and non-judgmental way, helping you become more aware of your here-and-now experience, and helping you attain insight into the meaning of your experience.  Moreover, I would like to help you understand the way significant early experiences -- i.e., those occurring in childhood -- continue to live profoundly in the present.  Therapy is a way for you to overcome limitations, have more freedom, and to feel better. We might focus on one or two specific issues, or our therapeutic relationship may allow you to move more freely throughout all parts of your life. Every course of therapy is unique to the person undergoing change.  Some people come to therapy with specific struggles and end-point in mind, and others desire long-term work to address pervasive and difficult patterns of experience.  Consequently, the length of working time varies from client to client.