Belanger Therapy believes our bodies are wise in dictating what the organism’s needs are, but our minds have grown so advanced that it has the power to override any other need of the body, to include physical needs. Societies pressures, familial pressures, work pressures, relationship issues, etc., seem to rise to the top leaving our bodies starving for much needed rest and general holistic integration. At Belanger Therapy this is the work we can do together. Our bodies have knowledge and wisdom that is as old as a single living cell. It knows how to survive without our thinking mind’s help. It has the wisdom to know how to survive and thrive. So why do we not trust it and why do we regularly hinder the process by allowing our chaotic, monkey minds to dictate the next move? I hope to offer the individual a place of reprieve where we together can usher the body into some state of rest so it can “re-organize” and find a place of stability again. We are fortunate to be next to Balboa Park and to the Fourth Street Bridge. If the outdoors is what soothes you, let us go there. Allow this corner street office to be that place.
My Specialties Include
PTSD, PTS or Traumatic Experiences
GLBTQ Relationship/Trauma
Grief, Bereavement, Loss
Depression
Anxiety
Mindfulness and Meditative Practices
Use of our Natural Environment and Green Space
My Approach
I believe my approach is simple, and natural.
• Go only at the pace your body’s system can handle
• Therapy doesn’t have to be a focus on all that is wrong in life; we can start to become familiar with what is right, okay and working in order to address the wrongs with more strength and resilience.
• You do not need to retell your trauma to heal; this is not an exposure therapy based model of therapy
• The healing process is gradual and your body communicates when its ready first.
• Belief and Knowledge that you have all you need to heal held within you
• Compassion and respect for your life experiences; you are the expert
• I look to integrate and create connection body, mind, heart and spirit to help you feel whole
• PTSD, Anxiety, Depression is not permanent
The overarching therapeutic modality that is used is Somatic Experiencing Therapy. If you are unsure of what SE is, I invite you to see more by clicking on my SE tab. You can also learn more here About SE™
The practice of mindfulness is used in every session in the most natural way. We are so inundated with information, and various stimuli constantly that keep us in chaos. What is often getting in the way is our own minds, thoughts racing, and the all too famous “to do” list. Information flowing into our awareness ensures that our minds are constantly skipping from one thought to another causing us great confusion and keeping us on our toes.
– Carl Rogers
Fortunately, our bodies seek to heal and find balance while we are awake, sleeping, conscious or unconscious. Your body’s automatic function at all times is to bring you back into a state of equilibrium. Your body holds within it a wisdom and knowledge of what it needs that far surpasses what our brains have come to know.
Awareness and acceptance of where you are currently will be the road you travel to reach where you desire to be.
Our ability to accept what the reality is at this very moment allows us freedom. This “Living in the Present Moment, and not living in the pain of yesterday or the fear of the future allows us to be fully present with the given moment. When we resist or fight against the elements within us or we resist all that is in our lives, we invite suffering. Finally, the more we RESIST the things we cannot change the more we suffer. Awareness and mindfulness of ourselves brings us to what matters most in our lives.
“What lies behind you and what lies in front of you pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.
–Ralph Waldo Emerson