ASHLEY MORRISON, PHD
Licensed Psychologist
REDISCOVER YOURSELF
We all carry around a metaphorical bag of stuff with us. That bag is filled with our thoughts, feelings, experiences, identity—everything that makes us who we are. In individual therapy, we unpack your bag together. We explore each item, get curious about it, investigate it. How did that item get in the bag? What is the impact of carrying it around with you?
Together, we make meaning of your items. Some items you will decide are essential. Others are weighing you down and preventing you from being your authentic self. I help you decide what you want to do with those items and then figure out how to do it.
While this is certainly an oversimplification, it serves as a good introduction to what you can expect in therapy. During our work together, I pay special attention to the relationship that you and I build, your emotional experience as we process what is in the bag, and the impact of our identities, both different and shared.
Opening the bag for the first time can feel overwhelming, but it's the first step in a journey that can bring positive, lasting change into your everyday life. Most importantly, you don’t have to do this alone.
REDISCOVER YOUR RELATIONSHIPS
Throughout our lives, we receive both direct and indirect messages about who we are and what is expected of us. Sometimes these messages can be very damaging, and can distort our perceptions of ourselves and our relationships. We use these messages to develop narratives about ourselves—narratives that can create harmful assumptions and lead to depression, anxiety, and relationship difficulties.
In group therapy, you can start to identify your narratives and how they impact your relationship with yourself and with the other people in your life. Often, what happens in your relationships outside of the group will repeat itself in the group, providing you with a safe space to get curious and explore. You will learn to attend to your thoughts and feelings as they emerge and verbalize them in the group. In addition, you can practice new, more authentic ways of relating to others and see how it feels.
By practicing authenticity, openness, and honesty you will build connections, and through these connections you will start to learn who you really are. Knowing yourself better will allow you to rediscover and redefine your relationships with others as well.