vanessa james (she/her)

I take a transpersonal approach to healing, meaning when we surrender to what we can't control we can then connect to the wisdom t beyond our ego to feel more expansive, grateful, alive and at peace. I welcome all spiritual backgrounds and curiosities.

I take cultural humility seriously and understand that we are all interconnected, not separate. Therefore, I understand that our larger systems play a huge in role in our general well-being. I love to bring in multicultural elements to healing and see the Western approach to be only one approach. I believe communal healing is vital therefore see how cultural constructs can lead to more or less personal empowerment. We question where our ideologies come from.

Much of happiness is based on how we interact with others in lives. WE explore our relationship patterns that were formed in childhood based on the love, or lack thereof we received from our primary caretakers. We explore our attachment styles in a somatic and experiential context to better understand our protective strategies to we can give them more compassion instead of unconsciously allowing them to drive our reactions in our intimate relationships.

Depth therapy uses archetypal t symbology to guide us into the human psyche and the unconscious material that lies beyond the ego. We welcome the shadow for tea in my work. We get curious about what lies below the surface as much of our unconscious material is what guides our decision making. We use archetypes as a compass into where we may be in our soul's journey through dream work, symbology, art therapy, guided imagery, visions, rites of passage, and collective consciousness understanding.

Hakomi is my love and a somatic, body oriented method that changed my life and what inspired me to become a therapist. Hakomi is a lifestyle that uses a "bottom up" approach to psychotherapy. It uses the principles of mindfulness by being with the emotions we feel in the moment with compassion, empathy and curiosity. It follows the organicity of what's happening for the client without an agenda but loving presence and nonviolent communication, to uncover the unconscious material the lies within

IFS approach views the mind as a group of parts or subpersonalities. These subpersonalities are led by the Self, the part of you that holds your core essence, beliefs, and consciousness. In other words, your Self is your identity, an the subpersonalities are the different thoughts and behaviors that express that identity depending on the experience. Since all the parts are you, it’s assumed they have good intentions and want the best for the Self. they can at battle, we want to bring union

I trained in Hakomi Somatic Therapy in 2017 after receiving Hakomi sessions from my therapist and finally feeling like I had met myself more fully. This training changed my life and I am so grateful to share it with you. It is based on the principles of mindfulness, compassion, organicity, curiosity and nonjudgment. This body-centered approach is great for working with trauma that lies dormant in our bodies as well as working with our nervous system's response to triggers or glimmers :)

Gestalt is an approach that is highly experiential and, in my opinion, fun! We can use role play to acquire more information about how we feel about another person or to better understand our part in it. We use empty chairs, props, and art therapy to externalize our inner voice to better understand it rather than allowing it to create shame and suffering.