Why "Living Ground"
In Gestalt therapy, ground refers to everything that shapes who we are and how we experience the world — our relationships, our bodies, our past, and what's happening in our lives in the present. It is the context from which we make meaning and grow.
For me, living is an invitation to try something different. Many of us have had to numb or deaden parts of ourselves to survive. Living Ground is about cultivating a way of being that feels more present, more authentic, and more fully alive.
What Gestalt therapy is
From Gestalt Associates for Psychotherapy, where I received my training:
Gestalt Therapy emphasizes the here and now, and seeks to find the balance between accepting our creative adjustments to past circumstances, while also heightening our awareness of the fuller range of creative and spontaneous possibilities that are available to us in the present moment. It is a therapy that respects the integration of mind and body, so its focus is on the interplay between the cognitive and emotional aspects of the self. It is also a relational therapy, predicated on the belief that when we meet in the present moment with fullness and openness, with genuine and unreserved acceptance, we create the ground from which all healing takes place.
What that looks like in the room
I'm interested in what you notice in the present moment, what you feel in your body, and what happens between us as we talk. As we work together, we'll pay attention to the patterns that have become fixed over time. The goal isn't go get rid of those parts of yourself, but to bring awareness to those patterns so that you can respond with more flexibility and hoice.
If this way of working resonates, you might read about the ways we could work together, or reach out and ask whatever this page has not answered.