Tag Archives: therapy

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counseling at Wellspring

For the next several weeks we will be featuring the skilled and qualified practitioners who work out of Wellspring Holistic Center.

Heidi Minich is the newest practitioner at Wellspring Holistic Center. She is a certified professional counselor with a background in providing solution-focused, strength-based, client-lead therapy. She is also a student at the Pennsylvania Gestalt Center and feels such passion and excitement about this experimental and experiential approach to well-being.

 

What do you offer your clients?

Trustworthiness, a judgement- free relationship, compassion, support and a deep desire to help them grow and experience more joy and fulfillment in their lives. I believe it is an absolute honor to tenderly hold people’s stories and experiences and to provide them with a safe place to grow. I also believe that every person is the expert on themselves. You know what has worked or not worked for you before and it’s not at all my approach to tell you what I think you should do or what issues you should be working on. You have an amazing knowing about yourself and it’s my job to help you tap into your inner wisdom.

 

What fills you up with happiness?

Being immersed in nature. Dancing. Connecting with others. Sharing deeply. Loving.

 

Do you have a morning ritual?

My morning ritual actually starts the night before when I gift my “next day self” with preparing the coffee maker and tidying the kitchen and living room.

 

What soothes your soul?

Knowing that I’m not alone in this life…that there is divinity behind the scenes, loving me and guiding me and responding to my desires.

 

What do you do for yourself?

I work at loving myself more and more and becoming more aware of my amazingness as well as the parts of me that are afraid of my amazingness. I regularly attend Monday night dance classes. And I seek experiences and connections that draw me closer to my joy.

 

How do you keep yourself centered?

I tune into my body and my heart and do my best hear and honor that wisdom. I trust my heart to always lead me in a wonderful direction and am gradually becoming more courageous about following its desires.

 

For more information about Heidi Minich, MS, NCC please visit her website at www.livinglifemore fully.com or feel free to contact her directly at livinglifemorefully@verizon.net or 814-566-2462.

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Feel your Feelings

It is amazing how many times I ask a patient to tell me how they feel and they answer with what they think. Feelings can be overwhelming and scary to many people. Thinking is actually safer and makes people feel more secure. Here is an example of a conversation I had the other day with someone.

Mary (name changed for privacy purposes), “At the party the kids were all coming to sit with me and even the kids of my siblings and friends were coming to sit with me.”

Me, “How did that make you feel?”

Mary, “I wondered why they were not sitting with their own parents and wondered if I had coddled my own kids too much.”

Me, “Do you realize that you have not named your feelings, just what you were thinking about?”

Mary, “No, hmmm, what was I feeling? Pride, Yes, that is it. I felt proud.”

Her face was lighting up now and tears were forming in her eyes. That quickly faded as she said, “That is not good, is it? I shouldn’t feel proud.”

I watched her shoulders tighten, her breathing became shallow, and she looked distracted.

There is more to this story but let’s stop here and look at a few things.

Feelings make us feel.

In this case Mary was moving more blood and oxygen through her body which was making her more relaxed. Her face was flushed and she was about to cry. She stopped the process by allowing her brain to take over. Many of us judge that feelings are messy. Messy means we are somehow out of control which can make us uncomfortable. Thinking gives us the illusion that we are in touch with what is going on in our bodies.  Our brain (even though it is housed in the body), does not want us to feel uncomfortable. The mind wants to keep us from feeling anything that “it” judges is a threat to “its” survival. You see, as soon as you are feeling, you are not thinking and the mind (or ego) is threatened.

This is clearly a very huge topic that requires a much deeper look and yet just for today, let’s stop and just try one experiment.

Today, name a feeling that you are having especially one that is causing you discomfort, and just stay with it. When the thoughts start, acknowledge that you are thinking and then just go right back to feeling.

There is nothing to fix. There is nothing to change. Feelings and emotions are just energy in motion. They want to move. Let them.

If you want help, I am happy to assist. Write or call me and we can book a session. Sometimes it is helpful to have a guide for the journey.

anitab@anitabondidesigns or 570-421-3708