Addie Michlitsch

Do you struggle with interpersonal boundaries either finding yourself with no boundaries getting hurt often or putting up walls and feeling the pain of isolation? Do you find that you hold resentment, have distorted/nonexistent spirituality, avoid reality (e.g. through addictions), or have a hard time with sustaining intimacy with others? I provide a safe, nurturing environment where we can gently explore these areas to create new experiences with oneself and one’s past.

Trauma is a normal response to an abnormal situation. It is stored in the body and not in the event so the body is a good place to start in order to heal. Survival energy gets mobilized in order to respond to a threat though it does not always get released which can show up as trauma symptoms leading you to feel disconnected from yourself and others. This survival energy can be released after-the-fact leading to greater resilience and capacity to be connected and present.

Trauma is a normal response to an abnormal situation. It is stored in the body and not in the event so the body is a good place to start in order to heal. Survival energy gets mobilized in order to respond to a threat though it does not always get released which can show up as trauma symptoms leading you to feel disconnected from yourself and others. This survival energy can be released after-the-fact leading to greater resilience and capacity to be connected and present.

People often come to me when they are stuck in a pattern. This can be a substance addiction, behavioral addiction, or unhealthy, painful relationship patterns. The thing we have become addicted to becomes our management strategy. Something triggers the desire to use that strategy which then prevents something else from happening. I seek to “stop the stop” removing the management strategy so that something new can happen leading to the original pain and need and allowing for healing.

Somatic Experiencing (SE) is what is called a bottom-up type of therapy as it involves learning to pay attention to (or track) your sensations and emotions (what is happening in the body) which will result in changes to feelings and cognitions. When we experience threatening situations and cannot fight or flight the survival energy gets stored in the body but thankfully can be released later. In learning how to pay attention and release it one becomes more connected to themselves and others.

I hold the question "what are you doing here?" both in my office and on the earth as we meet keeping in mind whether you are living out your purpose. There are four "givens" of existence that e must grapple with: Death - it can be terrifying or freeing/motivating Isolation - we are born for/die for only ourselves Freedom - we have the freedom /responsibility for our life Meaning - we are meaning-making beings Sometimes symptoms point us to larger questions and we need help working through them.

Our thoughts, feelings and behaviors all influence each other. If the core belief is not true or helpful then it can greatly impact how we think, feel and behave. When one begins to consider some of the underlying assumptions and see if there are other alternatives there can be shifting in all the other areas. This is a primarily top-down approach which involves modifying one's thinking and can be very useful in conjunction with other therapies for lasting healing and change.

Many of the symptoms have to do with what is happening in your body. It is getting revved up though may not necessarily have anywhere to go. I will help you become more comfortable with paying attention to what these signals are telling you so you can have a different, more satisfying response. We start to uncover the underlying causes of your worries and fears, learn how to relax, look at situations in a new, less frightening way, and develop better coping mechanisms.

This is a rapid, effective trauma therapy that gets to the root of the issue, helps you find your own wisdom and ultimately shows you that you can approach the thing you fear and come out the other side. This approach has not only transformed my practice, but the lives of those who try it. It may seem odd, but if you're up for something a little different than talk-therapy, you will see what hope and freedom and look like.