THERAPEUTIC APPROACH AND SPECIALTIES
My approach is non-traditional and engages experientially rather than only talking “ABOUT the problem.” This offers the opportunity to truly “externalize” the issue and see it more clearly rather than simply “intellectually”. Anxiety happens to be my specialty – often the result of unaddressed feelings and stressors occurring over a period of time and linked to habitual patterns of thought, feelings and limiting beliefs since childhood. Insecurities, unsuccessful coping strategies leading to stress, communication issues, attachment issues – these tend to be results of earlier times that continue persisting in distressing ways due to orienting, unwittingly, to beliefs creating worry, doubt, anxiety that continue to be lived rather than investigated.
Therapeutic Approach
As a Cognitive-behavioral counselor I incorporate a focus on the significance of the power of presence and an awakening state of consciousness which expands beyond limiting ego attachments and habitual, distressing thought-beliefs. I use innovative, experiential strategies in conjunction with our ‘talk-therapy’ so the client experiences as well as sees more clearly the limiting beliefs and hurts from the past that continue replaying in the client’s present – variations on a theme.
Clients learn to recognize old ‘narratives’–limiting beliefs– from childhood in our INDIVIDUAL WORK together. You read and learn to apply the wisdom of Eckhart Tolle and Byron Katie and others who point to awakening from your narrative of a flawed self that needs fixing as we cling to self-doubts and anxiety that we’ve come to believe is who we ARE. Discover how these beliefs are affecting your life today. You will learn mindful methods of being with the present moment. Because such shifts are difficult to embrace on one’s own, you will also receive support from a small group of like-minded individuals who are also working toward similar shifts. This new perspective leads to discovering more of your true nature – creating inner peace and calm. Even in the face of difficulties that may arise, this support may offer a sense that you are not alone and may provide emotional balance and calm.
These realizations coupled with on-going support have the power of transforming unproductive habits and painful earlier experiences into personal strength-of-Being and productive skill-sets.
Open to this unique method of a small group/community support, my client and I meet weekly for our Individual sessions, and – after a month, having established a relationship of understanding and trust, the client has been prepared to attend Exploring Reality Dialogues – a small group setting which occurs monthly. Body/Spirit Attunement Circle also occurs once monthly. Both small group gatherings create a foundation of support for clarity of mind, increased confidence and attunement with inherent intuition/body-wisdom. These small group components are accelerators building individual therapeutic momentum and are specifically designed for client’s creating significant inner shifts. The nature of this work necessitates small community support.
- Upgrade your “operating system” by learning Mindfulness skills – practicing awareness of the Present Moment – and learning new perspectives by reading authors such as Eckhart Tolle and Byron Katie which can positively affect unhelpful self-talk ‘habits’ of though, feelings & beliefs, therefore, creating new pathways in the brain
- feeling more natural and at ease within yourself and in the body, confident in your interactions as you live life from these new brain pathways rather than old habits of uncertainty.
Specialties
We will establish a trusting rapport, we will become partners in “investigations” and we will also work 
with a variety of experiential approaches such as working with Stones Constellations in the individual session with client/therapist. Working with stones as representatives for an “issue” enables the client to visualize and externalize their presenting issue rather than simply talking about it, intellectually. The stones, serving as representing a particular issue, can be seen and touched and engaged with to make the whole experience much more real rather than “intellectualized” and detached. Here is an example of a client’s intuitive, non-linear, non-conceptual placement of his stones. The stones are places intuitively – unconsciously. Together, we may explore the significance of these unexpected placements and relationships and what it might mean to the client.
Mindfulness is a learned practice of aware-attention (noticing) in the present moment. In learning mindfulness methods, you are observing your thoughts and feelings as if standing back and noticing them as ‘objects’, without judging them as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and with less attachment. Mindfulness skills bring relief from thoughts that make you feel ‘insecure’, limited, and unhappy about yourself. Practicing mindfulness creates personal empowerment and inner peace. Mindfulness allows you to BE…with whatever is happening…more skillfully.
EXPLORING REALITY DIALOGUES is the conceptual piece of this therapy – offered in a small group setting – in a Question and Answer format – once a month, that explores in a 2 hour period more completely than we’re able to engage in our time-limited individual sessions. Here, we come to realize how our ‘programmed’ *beliefs* and ineffective *thoughts* create anxiety, depression, fear and greatly contribute to the existence of our personal problems. We may come to discover how unrecognized and unresolved perspectives from childhood tend to contribute a great deal to the pressures and stressors we are feeling today. In this supportive gathering, we will refresh our use of our counseling ‘tools’. This is NOT group therapy – rather, together, in this safe environment we are exploring the misconceptions we all share due to ‘programming’ – that creates our self-doubt and emotional inner discontent. Also gained is a sense that ‘we’re not alone’ and can learn from each other, sharing tools and tips.
Many fear being *real* in a group – we’ve been ‘programed’ to always wear our mask to feel ‘safe’ – and we don’t realize that most everyone else is also pretending. In these circles, as I call them, we can actually gain confidence that we’re not so different, that others are not superior, that we’re actually all struggling in one way or another for self-acceptance. This augmented modality along side our 1:1 work is an important accelerant for inner shifts.
Please also view my Facebook page posts to see if you resonate with the perspective of discovery I offer. A significant aspect of my approach is coming to recognize mistaken beliefs we hold about ourselves and our lives. Click on the link just below and check out the various posts. Do they resonate?
Facebook – BodySpirit-Connection
CONSTELLATIONS WORK (Empathic-Body/Spirit Attunement) – (NO relation to astrology) is a most remarkable and phenomenal method for actually bringing into clearer visibility those unresolved issues long hidden from our conscious awareness. These hidden dynamics tend to keep us anxious and frustrate our moving forward, keeping us feeling stuck in repeating patterns that we don’t understand. This modality helps us bring these patterns into visibility while clearing a pathway toward healing these repetitive issues. In the non-judgmental, caring and support of the Circle, we experience our possibility for gaining trust and connecting with intuitive body-wisdom. We begin seeing these patterns (that we’ve ‘known about’ for years but could do nothing about) and actually feel empowered to ‘let go’ – a process that may otherwise take years in traditional ‘talk-therapy’ to even be recognized. An invitation to attend as an observer is extended to established clients after we’ve worked together, individually, for at least 4 – 6 weeks
Couples issues – Having been trained as a family therapist and providing individual and couples’ therapy for over 20 years, it’s clear that most couples’ issues are a result of their own personal, unresolved history. Understanding this, I find it unproductive to attempt traditional therapy with couples trying to “fix” their relationship problems – as this neglects focus on the root causes of couples’ individual problems that unconsciously perpetuate their relationship issues. I am no longer offering traditional couples counseling for this reason. If a couple is interested in exploring and discovering her or his own unique history of experiences, that continues to unconsciously perpetuate their relationship issues. This approach is for those individuals/couples who can see that their couples’ problem is actually a re-enactment of their own earlier life problem from their family-of-origin issues and are ready to explore and work through the root cause, together or individually that has been recreating and expressing the problem in their relationship. I will not be utilizing insurance for these sessions – as insurance requires the designation of an “identified patient” – singling out the “individual” with the problem – which defeats the intention of this unique approach.
If you find yourself intrigued by this non-traditional approach and open to small group support – drop me an email, please include your concerns that are prompting your seeking counseling, your age, as well as any questions you may have about my offerings. We may discuss if or how this unique approach may offer you a new direction in your life – learning to recognize limiting fears and beliefs while stepping into a freer and more confident way of expressing the Being that you Are
Repetitive habits and limiting beliefs deepen old brain grooves; while opening to new experiences, learning new perspectives creates new pathways in the brain. Write to: nancy (at) nancybennettcounselor dot com
Our BEING is like a soft and gentle flower, it needs to be nurtured, cared for, tended to, with sufficient sunlight, fresh air and freedom to bloom into its most precious and beautiful potential.