Thank you for having the courage to get help… I’m really glad you’re here. My name is Kari Homan Shannon, and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor. I have worked in this field since 2006, and enjoy being able to help people live their best lives.
The technique that we would start with, which happens to be my favorite technique, because it works so quickly, is one that combines the CLIENT’S FAITH BASE (belief in a higher power, prayer), with some ENERGY WORK. It is effective and quick, and most of the people I’ve worked with have seen resolution within 1-3 sessions. Please bear in mind, that you may need longer than that, based on your specific trauma and duration, but as this is so quick and effective, it’s my preferred method for getting you up and out of the trenches so that you can start approaching your life from a more balanced standpoint. Once your “stuck” points are worked out, then we can continue therapy from a more educational standpoint, where you’ll learn techniques, strategies and skills, such as how to fight fair, ways to express your feelings so that the other person can receive them without arguing, ways to communicate effectively, how to cut the fuse on a heated argument, how to make the other person feel heard, how to address negative thoughts, anxiety, and obsessions. Each session will contain a check-in to see how you’re feeling at the beginning and then again at the end, so that you can see, in numbers, the progress you’re making.
If you’ve never experienced energy work before, it’s important to know that every time we tell a story, it becomes a deeper part of who we are…. Thus, with the energy work that we’ll be doing, you won’t really be talking, because we don’t want that story (trauma) to be any deeper a part of you than it already is…. What you’ll be doing instead is simply remembering how you felt in whatever the situation was, and then letting that energy go, so that as you release it, the situation will cause you no more pain than it would if you were watching it on tv. You’ll be able to think about it, and remember it, but the pain will be lower. With continued work, the pain may even go away completely. For this reason, it may feel uncomfortable to you to simply sit and feel and release…. You might feel like you need to DO something, TALK about it, etc…. However, you really ARE doing something by doing the energy work, you’re releasing the painful emotions that are attached to the memories, and talking about it, might make your mind feel better, like it’s doing something, but isn’t actually needed as part of the process…. For this reason, this technique is really great for people who have heavy trauma, first responders, children who don’t have the verbage to be able to say what happened necessarily, etc. I’ve even used it on injured animals.
I like to think of the energy work, as working on a car engine. If you have a car that’s not working (doesn’t run), then you’re not going to focus on replacing a headlight or a worn-out floor mat. You’re going to look at the big picture, and try to get the largest items worked on first. It doesn’t make sense to focus on the outside, but then have to work past what’s on the outside to get to the problem on the inside. You can replace air filters, and windshield washer hoses all day long, but it won’t help your car run. Likewise, you can focus on the “small” stuff in therapy, but it’s the “big” stuff that’s driving the dysfunction. And, the dysfunction is why you’re here. So that’s where we start… with the big stuff, and getting it knocked out first, is why we do the energy work. To get you better, faster.
Said another way, If you’re building a house on a lot that has a lot of rocks and boulders, you’re not going to leave the boulders there and expect all your tradespersons to work around the boulders, you’re going to move the boulders, so that you can see what you’re left with, and the tradespersons will be able to easily access their jobs, and things will go more smoothly. We are going to start out, in therapy, by moving the boulders, which will get you healthier faster (energy work). Then we will fine-tune the process and work on the rocks that are left (CBT / other techniques).
I do realize that this technique is not for everyone, so if all this sounds a little “woo woo” to you, then all I can ask is to give it a try…. If it’s not a good fit, then no harm / no foul, and we can use any of the other techniques available.
If you’d like to build rapport first, and just get a feel for me and therapy, then please feel free to schedule any session you prefer.
If you’d like to dive in and get started, then please schedule a **PHONE** or **VIDEO** session as there are things I will be doing on my end for the energy work, that will be next to impossible in a chat session.
