Contemplative psychotherapy offers an approach to therapy that makes space for the spiritual dimensions of being human. Alongside psychological exploration, we can attend to questions of meaning, spirituality, embodiment, contemplative practice, and the ways these dimensions of life shape your experience of yourself and the world.

My approach is informed by over a decade of dedicated meditation practice and study of contemplative and embodied traditions, including training in spiritual care across a range of faith and wisdom traditions. I identify as a Buddhist practitioner, poet, and mystic at heart, and my work is grounded in both lived practice and ongoing inquiry.

In the spirit of the Buddhist concept of kalyānamitra - often translated as “spiritual friend” - I understand the therapeutic relationship as a space of companionship, curiosity, and mutual presence. Together, we can explore the inner life with openness and care, including your relationship to spirituality, practice, meaning, embodiment, and the realities of being human in a challenging world. We can also make space for the questions, tensions, doubts, and obstacles that naturally arise along the way.

Contemplative psychotherapy may incorporate:

• Mindfulness and contemplative awareness as resources for developing greater presence and self-understanding

• Exploration of spirituality, meaning, values, and existential questions

• Meditation, prayer, self-inquiry, or other contemplative practices when they are supportive of the therapeutic process

• Attention to embodied experience and the relationship between mind, body, and spirit

• Exploration of spiritual or contemplative experiences, questions, and challenges

• Integration of contemplative practice and lived spirituality into everyday life

• Outdoor sessions and contemplative practices in nature, when appropriate (visit Walk & Talk Ecotherapy to learn more)

This approach may be particularly meaningful for individuals who have an existing contemplative or spiritual practice, are exploring their relationship to spirituality, or feel that psychological healing and spiritual life cannot be neatly separated. It can also offer a space to explore periods of spiritual questioning, transition, grief, loss of meaning, or uncertainty without requiring a particular religious or spiritual framework.