As we move from childhood to adulthood, we form a sense of self
We learn our way around our bodies, emotions, and thoughts, how to act, and how to relate to others. We learn a way of being.
Over time, we identify with this way of being. It persists because it serves us well. It contributes to our success, and provides us with comfort and safety.
But the way of being we learn can outlive its usefulness. We can find ourselves feeling as if there is no choice but to continue thinking, feeling, and acting in the ways we always have.
It can begin to feel as though there is no hope for life to be otherwise.
Therapy is time set apart from the current rhythms and patterns of your life
It often begins in a moment of discomfort or change.
Stress and anxiety, depression, grief and loss, life transitions, conflict and difficulty in relationships, questions about identity, a difficult decision, existential angst, lack of meaning.
When I sit with someone for the first time, my intention is to meet their experience with a kind, curious, nonjudgemental attention. The direction that this leads varies from client to client and session to session, but there are common themes:
Differentiating between felt emotional experience, a process we do not have control over, and the way we respond to emotional experience, which we can learn to do more skillfully. This allows for clear decisions about what aspects of suffering one works to accept and what aspects of suffering one works to change.
Attending to relational dynamics: relationship with one’s self, relationships with others, and the therapeutic relationship.
Noticing avoidance: learning to notice the emotions and thoughts one avoids and cultivating the courage to face them can be an important means of learning and growth.
Practicing extending acceptance and compassion to one’s self and others.
Learning to recognize the ways that past experience shapes present, which can be useful in interpreting the meaning of emotions and finding the most effective response.
This process can contribute to a deeper understanding of one’s self, strengthened connections to others, greater clarity in decision making, and an improved sense of well being.
To learn more, read through the FAQ, send me an email at therapy@natetorrence.com, give me a call at (774) 563-3466, or read more about me, my practice, or my work with couples.
Get in touch
[Individual psychotherapy for adults with Nate Torrence, LMHC, at Otherwise Psychotherapy, LLC in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sessions are 55 minutes, offered in person at the Central Square office (678 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139) or via secure telehealth throughout Massachusetts. Nate works from a humanistic, existential, and mindfulness-based orientation, including Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT). Clients often come to this work around anxiety, depression, relationship patterns, life transitions, grief, self-esteem, stress, and questions of meaning or direction. The therapeutic approach emphasizes emotional awareness, self-compassion, and the examination of long-standing patterns that may no longer serve. Free 15-minute phone consultation. In-network with BCBS, Harvard Pilgrim, and Tufts.]