Counseling for Men
Do You Want To Increase Your Capacity For Connection — To Yourself, Others And The Greater World?
Do you want to feel more fully expressed in the world and connected to your heart?
Have you been living your life strictly from your head, feeling an intense aching, longing or pain that you’re not sure what to do with?
Maybe you’re in the midst of a crisis or significant life transition, such as divorce or a career change, and you want to reevaluate your life and place in the world. Or perhaps you want to deepen your relationship with your partner and/or strengthen your spiritual connection. It might be that you struggle with anger, resentments or disappointments that are burning up in you, making it difficult to experience true intimacy, trust others or engage in meaningful relationships. Maybe an incessant need to perform and succeed has led to significant stress, anxiety or depression, making it feel impossible for you to find balance and relax. Do you want to get out of your head and more into your heart?
Tapping Into Your Heart
If you’re at a crossroads in your life, unsure of what brings you true contentment, you are far from alone. There is so much pressure on men to perform, provide and succeed, leaving little space or time for men to explore the emotional, spiritual and relational aspects of their lives. Many—if not most—men also didn’t have role models that demonstrated closeness, thoughtful communication and how to be in a meaningful, deep relationship. Although many men admire their fathers, their fathers were of a different time when it seemed enough to be intellectually strong and even aloof. While they may still look to dad for guidance, many men still struggle to get a sense of what they need today.
There also appears to be a trend emerging that in some ways mirrors what women went through decades ago. While women were pushing for liberation and equal rights and pay and adopting roles traditionally associated with the masculine, men today—especially in progressive, liberal communities like the Bay Area—are realizing that something is missing from their lives that is keeping them from feeling fully whole. They sense that there is something more—a deeper, more connected way of being within themselves, their relationships and the bigger world.
Whether at a crossroads, in crisis or pulled by an inexplicable longing to explore your deeper self, as a therapist who specializes in men’s counseling, I can help. Together, we can tap into what you need to move from your headspace into your heartspace and foster more connection, closeness and contentment in all aspects of your life.
Counseling For Men Provides You With Support, Skills And Space To Explore
Counseling for men can be extremely effective and help you learn about your patterns, challenges, triggers and the issues that you want to change, as well as explore new possibilities for movement and growth. Men’s therapy sessions are a time and space for you to take reprieve from your busy, stressful life to slow down and allow what is underneath, all of the longing, tension and pain to arise.
In sessions, we can draw from somatic therapy and mindfulness therapy to explore what comes up in the moment, whether that be current challenges or unresolved issues from the past. Through the body, we can explore where you hold tension—your chest, jaw, etc.—and uncover what comes up. Every session is different and based on what you need at that time; however, as you feel into your body and heart through emotion and memory, it becomes possible to let go of patterns that are no longer serving you and tap into what your heart has to say.
We can also spend time working through specific issues, such as anxiety, depression, stress, self-esteem and relationships. Together, we can develop tools that you can apply outside of the office when thoughts and emotions begin to feel overwhelming or intense. You can leave every session with something new to take back into your life and practice, letting go of resistance and opening up to yourself, others and the world in ways that you may never have expected. Through this process, it becomes possible to feel into life more deeply and live with more ease, flow and connection.
Personal growth work takes time and a willingness to meaningfully self-explore; however, with the help of a trusted guide, it is possible to become more self-aware and step into your innate personal agency. You can develop a deeper understanding of long standing patterns, release what is no longer serving you and feel a deepening and shifting within yourself. New discoveries, insights and tools can help you show up in the world in exciting and innovative ways, allowing you to live with increased self-compassion, harmony and, importantly, love.
Are you still wondering if counseling for men is right for you?
I’m worried that what comes up for me will feel too uncomfortable or intense.
This is a common fear when considering counseling; however, in over 10 years of experience working with men, I’ve learned that when things are felt fully and you learn how to let go of tension, you will likely experience a significant sense of relief. I also work in a really organic manner that’s mindful and body-based, and if anything at any point begins to feel overwhelming, we can slow everything down. Throughout sessions, you’ll also develop insight into yourself and learn mind-body skills to self-regulate that you can take into the world.
I don’t have a mental health disorder; I’m just searching for some answers about myself. Is therapy the right way to go for me?
You don’t need to have a mental health condition to benefit from therapy, and the type of counseling that I do is essentially focused on helping you cultivate increased self-awareness and deepening into who you innately are. Counseling for men sessions offer you the time and space to become curious about your life, develop a better relationship with yourself and discover how you can feel more alive and effective in the world. I’ll meet you with compassion and understanding and serve as a guide as you delve into a radical process of self-discovery.
I feel like engaging in men’s therapy will make me appear weak and that I should be able to figure all this out on my own.
We all need help sometimes, and I see vulnerability and asking for help, when we need it, as a sign of strength and intelligence. If you’re struggling, you can continue to deny the issues and push the problems away, but they’ll still be there underneath it all. With the help of a trusted guide, however, you can develop more self-awareness, foster your strengths and cultivate the balance in life needed to feel increasingly capable of dealing with anything that comes your way. Furthermore, sessions are confidential and no one needs to know that you’re in therapy unless you choose to share your experience.
Live As Your Most Open, Connected And Effective Self
If you’re ready to develop increased self-awareness, let go of what no longer serves you and expand your capacity for self-compassion and connection with others, I invite you to call my office in Berkeley, CA at 510-225-9188 for a complimentary 20-minute phone consultation. I’m happy to discuss your needs and goals and answer any questions you have about counseling for men and my practice.