Your Private Life and Personal Relationships
Our lives are comprised of events, phases, and relationships that challenge us and offer opportunities for growth and wisdom.
“Some events we choose.
Many are simply inevitable waypoints of life.”
Events
All of us go through events challenge and shape us, be it the excitement of a new relationship; the grieving at the end of a relationship or the loss of a loved one; or the mix of so many emotions upon the move to a new country. Some events we choose. Many are simply inevitable waypoints of life.
What do we do when faced with life’s offerings? Our feelings, attitudes, interpretations, and reactions to such events are central to our flourishing. Taking the time to reflect and process these events is crucial for self-awareness, better decisions, growth, and well-being.
PHASES
Similarly, all of us evolve through phases in life. Adolescence, being in a long-term relationship, being divorced, being a parent, middle-age and facing one’s limits and mortality, being retired.
Each of these can be fundamentally disruptive and/or liberating in practical as well as psychological ways. We have the opportunity to question and modify our identities, make important choices as we embark in the next phase of our lives.
Perspective-taking is crucial at life phase-shifts. We need to understand our old and emergent selves. Why do we do what we do? What are our fundamental psychological needs? Where do they come from and how do they express themselves? What patterns do we follow unconsciously? Which do we wish to continue? What new patterns do we want to develop, in thought, feelings, choices, and behaviors? What do we really want?
Relationships
As social beings, our lives are lived in relation to others. Deep and intimate relationships are central to the meaning and joy in our lives. The health of these personal relationships powerfully impacts every aspect of flourishing, from physical health to emotional wellbeing and sense of contentment.
Every intimate relationship is almost infinitely complex, with each person coming to the relationship with their own needs, preferences, tendencies, and interpretations and projections. By exploring these dynamics you can overcome obstacles and points of friction and make your relationships stronger and more rewarding.
“Speaking and listening are a form of psychic breathing”
-Carol Gilligan
Our Work Together
Our work together will be based on the compassionate understanding that all of us are flawed and beautiful. Ours will be a safe space for disclosure and exploration. By creating a truly safe space, together we will explore—and help you come to accept with compassion all of you.
We will go as quickly or as slowly as feels comfortable to you. We can take a long and deep journey of self-discovery together or we can, if you prefer, look only as deep as is necessary to come up with a viable solution to a problem at hand.