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Meet Tralana and learn more about our philosophy and therapy approach.
Hello, If you are watching this video, that means you are interested in scheduling a session with Sage Holistic Counseling. The purpose of this video is for you to understand what counseling will look like so that you can decide if you would like to schedule a session.
Choosing a Therapist
Research indicates that one of the most significant factors in whether or not therapy is effective is the therapeutic relationship. When choosing a therapist, race, gender, ethnicity can influence your experience with therapy. Talking to a complete stranger can be challenging already, so we want to address any barriers that can influence the already difficult aspect of getting to know and trusting someone with information that maybe you haven’t shared with the people closest to you.
I often say choosing a therapist is like buying a new pair of shoes. When you choose a pair of shoes you consider the style, if you like it, is it functional, if matches with your assemble perhaps, the price, and of course if it fits. And even with all that consideration, sometimes after walking around in it a bit, we realize, it's just not a good fit. When that happens, we don’t throw away shoes in general, or tell ourselves that we won’t ever buy a new pair of shoes. We try it again until we find the one that fits well.
Well, therapy is something like that. You want to consider the cost, the personality of the therapist, the counseling style, and the functionality of their methods. In order for you to receive all the benefits of what counseling has to offer, you need to show up as your full authentic self, and I need to be able to do the same.
It is important that therapists do not work harder than their clients. I want to show up energized for every client that I work with. So together we will decide if our alignment is a good fit. This also means, at any time in our journey you feel that this just isn’t a good fit, that is more than ok. It’s great that you are learning what works for you and what doesn’t. Together we will find someone that is better aligned with your preferences.
What Does Counseling Look Like?
So now let's talk about what counseling will look like at Sage Holistic.
So there are so many different definitions right now of what holistic is. At this time there is a whole movement towards incorporating holistic practices and emphasizing the wellness model. And that's great, those methods work for some people, and for some it doesn’t. What I found is that it is important for every person to truly define what holistic means for them. So that is what we will focus on in this video. What is counseling going to look like at Sage.
What Does Holistic Mean?
To me, holistic means we are going to incorporate all the parts of you. Specifically your mind, body, and spirit. But we are going to discuss all the different domains of who you are. We are going to talk about your work life, social life, what you put into your body, how you spend your time outside of our session, what you are taking in. Because what I know is that how you spend your time outside of our session, heavily impacts the goals that you want to achieve. So holistic simply means, I am going to be incorporating all the parts of you. And of course that means spirituality.
Now does that mean you have to subscribe to a higher power to work with me? Absolutely not, when I refer to spirituality, what I mean is ...
What is the essence of who you are...
How do you make sense of the world?
How have you been experiencing the challenges that life may present?
What grounds you?
What values and biases do you hold?
What is your view of the world?
What lens are you using to make sense of it all?
And that looks different for every person.
Counseling Curated to You
So at Sage, we want to curate the counseling experience for you because we understand that we all get here in different ways in life. We are all diff and unique. We understand that there isn't one cookie cutter therapeutic process or cookie cutter modality that can help each person that walks in. So we want to curate the counseling experience for you as a collaborative process. So that you can determine because you're the expert of your own life, so that you can determine what works and what does not work for you. And if you’re not sure what that is, that's where I come in. To support you and guide you through that process to sort that out.
So lets talk a little more about what that will look like holistically. As I stated, I want to curate the counseling experience for you. Although many therapists may identify as using an eclectic approach to counseling in regard to their counseling perspective and techniques, we tend to gravitate to a few that align with our personality and quite possibly what has helped us in life.
Types of Therapy
Story Informed Therapy
Many clients come to me because they just want to understand their story. They want to understand how they got here and how those experiences are influencing their decision making and outcomes. And that is true for individuals, couples, and families that work with me.
I incorporate Story Informed Therapy (SITT) to walk with you through your story. There is a significant amount of research that indicates our first relationships, our family of origin, the people that took care of you, or maybe not greatly influences who you are today. Those formative relationships influence what you bring into your romantic relationships, how you navigate challenges, who you are at work, how you see life.
So in order for you to achieve the goals you want, I really need to understand what you learned. We all go to school to learn how to read, to problem solve, to conjugate verbs, and all those things are important and I want to know about those experiences. But you learned a great deal before you matriculated into the school system. You learned how to love, how to navigate life challenges, how to trust or not, who you should trust, and what you should do if that trust has been broken.
So we will work together starting from the moments you were conceived to understand what you have learned and how that information is currently influencing how you are navigating life today. How you are navigating relationships, life challenges, and of course based on what you would life to achieve in therapy, then together we will figure out what is working and not working for you.
Emotionally Focused Therapy
Which leads me to the next modality that I often incorporate in counseling, which is Emotionally focused therapy (EFT).
EFT simply is a modality is all about getting to the root of the matter. What I have learned personally and clinically is that often we are all conditioned to use our prefrontal cortex, and as a pretty cerebral, logical person I get that. That makes sense.
It's very natural for myself to gravitate to that analytical place. What I also know is that when we are talking about deep intimate relationships, that is not the part of the brain that is the most helpful in cultivating those relationships. Unfortunately it isn't easy to go to that place after so much practice. It's also not easy to let go of those strategies that we have used and that were developed in those formative years of our life, to just let them go.
So together we work hard to sort through the coping skills that have more than likely helped get to where they are today. We are going to learn from them and honor them. But we will also discuss the cost of those skills, how are they weighing on you?
Maybe you already have that understanding, or maybe that's where I come in and shed some light on the costs to some of those strategies that you may not be aware of. Because it's really hard to see the full picture when you are the artist and so close to it. Or perhaps it's pretty apparent that these skills are what we call maladaptive and we need to shed them.
They have helped you in critical times in your life but they served their purpose and they are no longer needed. But unless you have another strategy that you trust and understand, we often just pull out the strategies that we are most comfortable with even when we can see that it doesn't work.
Your Life Experiences
So let's get back to the holistic approach, we will go through your story, we will get an understanding of what it looks like from the moment you came into this world.
What did your environment look like?
How did you learn?
How did those things influence your life’s choices?
Additionally, if you're open to it, we will use your natal chart.
What is a Natal Chart?
What is your natal chart? So if you have been around babies or young children, you will notice that before they were influenced by their caregivers, they came into this world with a personality. Some are curious, docile, feisty, quiet, and some not so much. We all come here with a template so to speak. So using your Date of birth, Time of birth, and City of birth, we figure out what you came here with.
All of that information helps me understand how you love, show up in the world, what you need to communicate in relationships, the best way for me to communicate with you which is pretty helpful. We go as far down that rabbit hole as you're comfortable with.
If you would like more information about natal charts. I would be happy to direct you another video or send you additional information about natal charts and how we can incorporate it into our work. But just like with any tools and information you come across in life, I invite you to take what you want and leave the rest.
Root Cause
At Sage we do not focus on the symptoms. We are interested in getting to the root of the issue. Instead of focusing on the cough we will focus on the infection, because what I know is that focusing on the symptoms can lead to the symptoms manifesting into something else, or they can just come back. So it is a thorough process to really get to and understand the infection. The process of getting to the root of the problem is a skill within itself. And that skill can be applied to any issue that you may face.
Time and Effort
So it is important that if you are choosing me as your therapist, you are not looking for quick fixes.
At Sage we are thorough in our work. It takes time to sort through your story, so it is important for you to think about how much time you have to dedicate to this, what are the financial implications to this. Because essentially what I am trying to do is work myself out of a job.
I use a significant amount of psychoeducation to help you know what I know. Upon the completion of our work, perhaps something comes up and the skills we worked on aren't really working on this issue and we need to adjust them or deeper levels of understanding or perhaps you want to check in, that's ok. But my goal is that at the end of our work, you will feel equipped to handle whatever comes your way, because you will have a better understanding of what works for you and who you are. But it is important that you are ready to do your work because we will work.
I want you to view me as a mirror, you will help me understand what you want to achieve, and based on what we uncover together in your story, I reflect back the barriers that are blocking you from reaching those goals in your relationships, at work, in your life in general.
A Tailored Experience
At Sage we are really trying to design a therapeutic practice that fits and aligns with your higher purpose, what you want to achieve is what we will focus on. We will tailor how it looks based on your needs. If you are interested in individual, couples, or family therapy, we can incorporate this holistic approach so that it aligns with your goals.
I want you to know that I am very direct, I have a sense of humor, I think I am pretty funny actually, perhaps you will agree, I want you to know that the same person you are seeing in this video, is the same person that you will meet with.
Schedule an Appointment
So if you have made it thus far in this video, you may be interested in talking more. Our first few sessions will entail us talking more in detail about how this will look for you as an individual, couple, or family. Then we dive in. If you have any additional questions, I invite you to schedule a phone consultation to ask any follow up questions. Or perhaps you have all the information you need and you're ready to schedule. In that case you can find the information on my website or scheduling information from the same place or person that directed you to this video.
I would be honored if you choose me as your therapist, I would also be happy to point in the direction of a therapist that may be a better fit for you. I am sending light your way, I hope that you enjoy the remainder of your day. And perhaps our paths will cross soon.
Peace.
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