Word Play Therapy is a Place Where Clients Grow

I was recently interviewed on my favorite private practice development podcast called Practice of the Practice. It was an honor to speak to one of my private practice heroes, Joe Sanok.  We spoke about the steps that I took to mindfully create my own private practice designed to help others grow. During the podcast, I spoke about using a narrative approach with trauma clients help them to grow and see their lives in new and meaningful ways.

Learning to Grow with Clients

This interview also reinforced for me that working with trauma clients has helped me to grow immensely.  My creative clients introduce me to elements of the human experience, like music, poetry, visual arts, and theater, that I might not understand in the same ways that they do. We incorporate their different ways of expressing themselves into our trauma work. I am so grateful for the honor to bear witness to my clients’ history. They allow me to listen to their stories of pain and renewal. And I try to facilitate their growth and new understanding of themselves and their resilience.

In treatment, my clients create more nuanced narratives of events that occurred in their lives. Then they realize that the trauma overwhelmed their systems and was out of their control. They come to see their power  in interpreting what those traumatic memories mean to them in their current life. And together we both learn and grow in our ability to cope with difficult events and overwhelming feelings. As a part of the significant work that my clients do in therapy, they often experience posttraumatic growth. This refers to learning to powerful changes in personality and life perspective that can be reached, despite their experiences of adversity. I have found that posttraumatic growth results in clients being able to find the beauty in the world in general and their lives in particular. This growth also fosters finding new meaning and purpose in life.

Would you Like to Grow with Me? Listen…

This podcast is primarily about the steps I took to build a unique private practice for trauma survivors.  It may be helpful for potential clients to listen to learn more about my values and beliefs about the power of therapy to help clients grow. It is also a chance to listen to how I work therapeutically in sessions. Lastly, it is an opportunity to get to know me better before considering working with me for therapy.

I hope you will hear my earnest desire to help you. Maybe you will also hear my sense of humor. I hope you enjoy this podcast! And I hope listening leads to us beginning a journey together. Click on the image below.