An unexamined life is not worth living – Socrates

First Session

Your first session is an important consultation session in which you and I will together explore and determine if we are a good fit. Please arrive 10 minutes before the scheduled time in order to complete the necessary paperwork. Its not necessary but I prefer that you bring a dream that you’ve recently had. The dream content helps me in assessing your internal psychological state quicker than your conscious words can reveal.

During the consultation, feel free to ask any questions you may have about related subjects, including but not limited to frequency of sessions, fee, payment method, my orientation, my background and method of providing therapy etc.

I will discuss all these issues in detail. If you are satisfied with my method of working we may schedule subsequent sessions.If I feel I may not be able to help you, I will inform you and would be happy to provide you with an appropriate referral to a therapist who can better meet your needs.

If we decide to continue with therapy, I will go over the therapeutic framwork that needs to be maintained throughout the duration of therapy. The framework is for your protection and for healing, and I would appreciate your active involvement in the process.

What Should I Expect From Therapy?

I have a developmental background and I choose to work within the framework of Depth Psychology. This means that I believe that our heritage. our culture and our childhood environment create templates that unconsciously and instinctively guide our behaviors in adulthood.

Human beings have tremendous potential. A perfect past and a perfect environment in the present would create perfect adults who would be able to realise their full potential. However, as humans we can only strive for perfection, never being allowed to touch it. Our parents never had perfect lives, and that imperfection is unconsciously passed on as a legacy to us. In addition, the environmental forces – positive and negative – influence and shape our character, and life events. Sometimes these external forces create roadblocks that bend and/or break our character and/or create circumstances that prevent us from realising our full potential.

Depression, anxiety and other psychological issues are ways in which the unconscious mind communicates its discomfort with the conscious mind. These ailments are symptoms that tell us that there is some hindrance that is preventing us from achieving our fullest potential. Anger is the consequence of the frustration we feel from being prevented from realising our full potential. Whereas all these are simply attempts to repair what needs to be repaired, it is unfortunate that the most of the medical world labels them as “disorders.” The message – that the underlying problems need to be resolved – get lost as we drift into medication induced emotional numbness that attempts to get rid of symptoms. Wouldn’t it be infinitely better to understand what these symptoms are attempting to communicate to us, and change our livestyle accordingly?

I use dreams, art, music, journaling and other forms of creativity to access the unconscious part of the psyche. As therapy progresses, you will see your problems begining to unfold in your creative expressions, and you will also witness the ways in which the psyche attempts to communicate with you, seeking your help in healing and resolving your problems. In the process of healing, you may also come to know yourself as you really are – deep down inside.

How Long Do I Have To Remain in Therapy ?

Your character was not shaped in a day, and neither can a lasting change be implemented in a day, or a week, or even a month. Logic and reasoning are products of the conscious mind, they do not appeal to the irrational unconscious mind. Logic can only take you so far in any therapy. Lasting change comes from insight, from recognising the uniqueness of your past, re-experiencing and living through the unsettling emotions, and in a professionally supportive therapeutic environment, finding your own unique ways of resolving the problems that have been limiting you. In your journey to health and wisdom, we – you and I – will function as a team.

The frequency and the duration of therapy sessions entirely depends on the complexity of the problem, the frequency and consistency of the sessions, and your own efforts during therapy.  Depth Therapy is a rigorous endeavor, and like any significant undertaking, it requires a serious commitment from both of us. The results usually are worth all the rigors and hardships of exploring distressing and often painful memories. Also, a proper termination process is a necessary requirement.

Do you take Insurance ?

I do not believe that managed care providers have the best interests of an individual at the heart of their business ethics. For this reason, among others, I do not accept insurance.  However, if you have insurance and would like to see me as an out of network provider, I can provide you with the necessary forms to submit to your insurance company.

Therapy Is For People Who Are Dysfunctional or those who have mental health problems  !!

To be normal is a splendid ideal for the unsuccessful, for all those who have not yet found an adaptation. But for people who have far more ability than the average, for whom it was never hard to gain success and to accomplish their share of the world’s work – for them restriction to the normal signified the bed of Procustes, unbearable boredom, infernal sterility, and hopelessness. As a consequence, there are as many people who become neurotic because they are only normal, as there are people who are neurotic because they cannot become normal

– Jung

Depth Therapy is not only for people who are having problems in life. It is also a vehicle, a transformative tool for growth and self actualization. When used for self awareness and personal growth, the explorations into the psyche enable deep insights into existential nature of our existence. It enhances self awareness, as well as an awareness of our connection with our ancestral heritage, with the natural environment and with the sacred and the divine that dwells within and without. Such awareness leads to expansion of consciousness and wisdom, it enables a deeper understanding, acceptance, contentment and increased joy in life.

What Is the Next Step?

If you are interested in exploring this further, give me a call at +64277097701 to schedule an initial consultation to find out if we are a good fit.

Madhu, from Madhuban