THE LAUGHING THERAPIST
My journey to becoming a therapist and Enneagram teacher arose from my personal journey as a client and student. Like most of us, I came from a family that was less than ideal, but as I see every day in my office, we turn out pretty damn well anyway. For me this means that I had enough resources to make a semi-mess of my life, to find help to clean it up, and to learn to laugh at myself along the way. (For a more detailed list of Enneagram experience, please scroll to bottom of this page.)
LAS VEGAS
I grew up in Las Vegas, which may be unusual, but my childhood was filled with common issues. Raised by a single mom who divorced my father and his addiction issues, tennis was my passion. My mother loved me but had a hard time providing me with a stable home. Often I felt more like her mother as I took on the caretaking role at a young age. It used to make me proud to be so responsible. It was only much later, in my own therapy, that I realized there was something wrong with this picture.
SAILING THE WORLD
Yet my mother also blessed me over and over. She gave me a huge gift when she insisted I go on Semester at Sea, a floating university that was then sponsored through the University of Colorado. Aboard a huge ship, I sailed once as a student and once on staff. Traveling to Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Egypt, Greece, Spain and Morocco, was an intensely educational and inspiring experience. Possibilities and options to how we orient in the world exploded open! This was beginning of being extremely curious about how I navigated both my inner and outer worlds.
FINDING MY VOCATION
In my mid-twenties, this curiosity lead me to a psychologist to sort out my life and the suffering I experienced, and to try to find a more authentic ME. It was through my time in therapy that I decided to become a psychotherapist and so I began graduate school in my early thirties. I had a natural tendency to want to help others, and obviously, this started young. I thought I might as well make good use of this tendency by turning it into a vocation! Indeed, as I was to find later, my life orientation may have partly come from surviving a less than healthy family, but it would also guide me to discovering great joy and happiness.
I attended Naropa University, graduating in 1994 with a M.A. in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology, which specializes in contemplative education. I began to delve deeply into my mind and feelings to learn how to help others. I love this direct approach to using my own experiences as the ground of learning. It was hard and wonderful; like putting yourself on the operating table while also being the surgeon. This has continued to be my orientation, constantly on my own inner journey and using the fruits of that journey to assist others.
THE ENNEAGRAM, MEDITATION , AND EMDR
Internally, my path has been one of being blind to the inner workings of my mind, in which I experienced painful reactions to my own experiences and to others, to greater illumination and compassion, and a great deal more peace and calm. The Enneagram (pronounced ‘any-a-gram’) has been an incredibly powerful system on that path. It helps me to understand my mind, perspectives, reactions and motivations. It’s like someone turned the lights on when I first heard about the system. There was some order, some pattern to my experiences rather than just confusing chaos. I became a certified teacher of the Enneagram in the Narrative Tradition in 2000 with Helen Palmer and David Daniels.
Mindfulness Meditation practice has also supported me throughout my adult life, allowing me to be aware and accept what is arising in my body, heart and mind rather than defending or ignoring my inner experience. It has helped my nervous system to calm to an amazing degree. Mindfulness Meditation combined with the Enneagram, make a truly transformative duo.
One other technique I use in my private psychotherapy practice is called EMDR. It is a highly effective tool in releasing stored traumatic experiences. From living with a critical parent to sexual abuse, EMDR allows laser-like access to events that we just didn’t quite work through in the moment of the traumatic experience. It is highly effective and assists in the release of the charge held in these past experiences so that we can heal, learn and move on.
LIVING ALONG THE RIVER
I currently live along a river, trees shading the yard, a true blessing in the arid plains. I have a great passion for gardening and am farming with some friends. There is a huge garden, chicken and goats. I intend on understanding the personality types of the chickens and goats! Just for fun. Having fun, being playful, enjoying the simple moments. I feel blessed beyond belief.
I LOVE TO:
Dance (NIA specifically)
Laugh and be playful
Watch things grow (human, plant and animal)
Tube down the river
Hike (especially alone so I can immerse in nature)
Read (spiritual books to murder mysteries)
Snorkel
PROFESSIONAL ENNEAGRAM
EXPERIENCE:
I’ve been teaching the Enneagram for eight years through workshops and ongoing classes locally in Boulder and more recently nationally. I became a certified teacher of the Enneagram in the Narrative Tradition in 2000 with Helen Palmer and David Daniels. In addition, I have also worked with small businesses, co-housing communities, and womens groups as well as given public talks at various events in the Boulder area. The Enneagram is extremely adaptable to fit the needs of a variety of groups and organizations. Please contact me if you have an interest. References are available upon request.