My name is Patrick Davis. As an existential-integrative psychotherapist, I am a caring and supportive guide for your journey of self-discovery. Together, we will explore the gifts and obstacles of your inner world to find the right path forward for you.
Our issues are often doorways to insight and transformation.
Therapy tends to focus on the places where we get stuck, so we will illuminate the obstacles that block your way. These may include: fears and insecurities; limiting beliefs; emotional triggers; and painful relationship patterns. We will work with these until you’ve developed strategies and skills to navigate past them.
But we’ll also collect the hidden treasures and marvel at the wonders that are contained within your inner world. We will identify your strengths and resources. We will explore what you value and what makes life meaningful for you. We will give voice to your deep dreams.
And we will develop your own inner wilderness skills such as mindfulness, self-acceptance, emotional awareness, and courage, so that you can take future journeys without needing a guide.
My style as a therapist is present, curious, warm, non-judgmental, challenging, and intuitive. I try to ask the right questions to help my clients reach their own insights.
If you feel curious about embarking on such a journey with me, please contact me to schedule a free 30 minute telephone consultation.
What would you like to bring to therapy today?
You may tell me about an encounter with your boss that made you feel angry or upset. You may tell me about persistent fear of failure and self-critical thoughts. Or you may tell me about a dream that left you feeling excited or scared.
Whatever you share becomes the material that we will work with. Depending on what arises, I will draw on different theories or traditions, or propose different practices.
Five key components of my approach:
Mindfulness
The skill of paying close attention to your experiences. Once you become aware of how you think, feel, act, and relate to others, you can begin to question why, and then make changes.
Body-focused practices
We will work with the sensations that arise in your body when you are emotionally activated. We will practice tolerating distress, and we will access and transform old patterns of emotional reactivity.
Dreamwork
Dreams portray the inner dynamics of the psyche using the language of metaphorical imagery. We will use tools like free association to learn from your dream images.
Parts work
Our psyches are made up of multiple parts, often with conflicting agendas. We will bring your parts into awareness and communication with each other, to achieve better balance and integration.
self-compassion
Many people are tormented by a powerful inner critic. We will work to deconstruct its harsh messages, while cultivating fierce self-acceptance and self-compassion.