Mary Maddox

Emotions make us who we are, but sooner or later, the world teaches us ways of dealing with feelings that end up hurting us. We devise brilliant adaptations to belong, achieve, or survive, only to find out one day that those solutions have become a problem. If we learn (as most of us do) that some of our emotions are unwelcome, "wrong" or "too much," we also learn to avoid them, suppress them, panic about them, project them onto others, numb them with addictions, drown them out with love or accolades, or shame ourselves for them. Our adaptations can accumulate until what once looked like a haven can start to feel like a cage.

I believe therapy offers freedom from this cage. This is why I like to push beyond purely cognitive work, so we won't just talk about how you think. My training in "experiential" modalities means you can actually expect to have a new, meaningful experience with me—safe enough to feel deeply, challenged enough to grow, helped enough to heal.

This new, meaningful experience should start from the get-go, from the consultation onwards. You can expect me to be fully present, endlessly curious about you, and above all, warm, kind, and accepting, even (and especially) of those parts of you that you may find difficult to accept right now.