"I have a therapist"

 Many times when people find out what I do, they'll respond with "ohhh, so you're like a therapist?" Or they'll simply say, "That's cool. But I already have a therapist." To which I respond (sometimes out loud, and always in my head...), GIRL, ME TOO! 

There have been several phases of my adult life when I have been in and out of therapy, which I've talked about openly. I sought the help of a therapist when I was stuck in an abusive relationship. I went to a grief counselor when my mom died. And now I'm back in therapy because I wanted to have someone who could help me process some of the big things happening in my life right now. 

What I do as an intuitive coach and a healer is very different from therapy. In fact, I believe a lot of us need both, and I personally have trusted healer friends who help me when I need that kind of support. Even healers need healers ;)

I consider it a compliment when someone compares me to a therapist, or when a client tells people that working with me is their therapy, but I think it's important to note the differences, because often times, if we limit ourselves to just one healing modality or one practitioner, there's a lot that might get overlooked, which can prolong your healing. In other words -- you might continue to feel stuck! 

In my experiences of therapy, we are working on the cognitive level, addressing what's going on in the mind -- looking at what has happened in our lives that's brought us to where we are, how it's impacting the way we feel, and talking about how we think and feel about those situations, both past and current. What we think and feel heavily influences so many aspects of our lives, including the actions we take and the choices we make, so examining our mental health, talking about thoughts and feelings, and understanding where they're rooted can be very impactful. 

This is where my healing work varies. While therapy takes place on mostly a cognitive level, the healing work I facilitate takes place on an energetic level. 

Now, when I talk about energy work, it can be a turn off to some skeptics. People who enjoy logic, science and facts tend to have a lot of doubts about energy work, and sometimes describe it as being "woo woo". I'll admit, there's some "woo" to what I do, but energy work is also backed by a LOT of science! 

I'm about to take you back to Physics 101 and the law of conservation of energy. To paraphrase Einstein, this law of physics states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another. 

In therapy, you might talk a lot about past trauma that you've experienced as a way to process that trauma (or any life event that negatively impacted you). Now, I need you to play along with me in order for me to demonstrate my next point. I want you to close your eyes and imagine the best day of your life, recalling as many details as possible. As you're recalling this memory, how do you feel? Now I'd like for you to close your eyes again and recall a very difficult day, maybe one that was very stressful or sad. How do you feel now? Do you notice anything going on in your body? 

These memories, thoughts that we may sometimes revisit in our mind, aren't just thoughts that we can neatly compartmentalize and store away. Remember those feelings that came up with both the good and bad memories you recalled? You can still feel those feelings, in your mind and body, because these experiences have energy. And thanks to the law of conservation of energy, so much of the energy of these events stay with us, in our bodies, even decades after they occured. You still felt those feelings because the energy of the events cannot be destroyed! BUT... it can shift and move so it's no longer with you.

What most people don't realize is that so many past experiences, especially events from childhood, continue to impact us as adults because we haven't been able to process (change to a different form, as the law of conservation of energy states) the energy of those events. This might come as an unpleasant surprise to people who believe that "the past is in the past". So much of what happened to us and our families continues to impact us on so many levels - our relationships, our careers, our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health -- until we are able to SHIFT the energy of those experiences. 

The real doozy is that because our mind's chief goal is to "keep us safe," a lot of those experiences become buried in our subconscious in our mind's effort to protect us. So there could be things we've experienced, the energy of which still impacts us, that we don't even remember. As the renowned psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, famously stated, "Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate." 

I don't tell you this to scare you, but rather to help you see that energy work is more than just woo woo, and that energy healing can be a key element of your healing process. When we're able to shift the energy of those past experiences and let it move on (and out of our minds and bodies, where it has been stored), our lives can change in amazing, unimaginable ways. 

Hopefully you now have a better, deeper understanding of what I actually do. I help my clients identify where the energy is stuck, and then I help them shift it. The first part is something I can't scientifically explain. I was born with (what I call) spiritual gifts that allow me to see, intuitively, what has happened to people and what past trauma is causing them pain in the present moment, even when they might not be consciously aware of them. I use my intuition and spiritual "sight" to bring these things into awareness for my clients so we can allow the energy to transform and process, so it will no longer keep them feeling stuck and in pain. 

I've had many clients tell me that one session with me was more powerful than a whole year of therapy, and I don't say this to toot my own horn, but because I understand exactly what they mean, and I know exactly how powerful the energetic work can be -- I've experienced it myself personally! It's how I stumbled upon this healing work in the first place. 

I had been in therapy for a year, talking about my relationship struggles, and linking it to being given up for adoption as an infant. Even with that awareness and a year+ of talking through it, nothing in my life was changing. I couldn't take the action I desperately wanted to take that I knew would make my life better. But after just a few sessions of working with the energy of what happened (facilitated by a dear and trusted healer friend), I was able to finally take action, and everything in my life began to change significantly and for the better. Moving the energy was what made the difference and brought the deep healing.

Trauma is no walk in the park. It can be heavy. It can be painful. And I can certainly understand why most people would rather "leave it in the past". But for those who find the courage to face it, just remember the power of healing it energetically. If you want to tackle it at all angles, remember that hitting it at the energetic level could be the power play that will change your life.