About the Author
I began my therapy practice using traditional psychotherapy models in 1995 after receiving my Master’s Degree in Transpersonal Counseling Psychology from the Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. The Naropa University brings together philosophies from both the East and the West. Consequently, after being immersed in the Naropa environment for 4 years, I felt strongly about incorporating both into my therapy practice.
In 1996 I felt an inner direction to move my therapy practice from Boulder, Colorado to Montana. After exploring Montana I chose to settle in Thompson Falls. At that time I was using traditional therapy techniques plus the Enneagram. I noticed that my clients improved at a steady pace, but not as rapidly as desired. In 1999 I decided to encourage my clients to develop meditation practices. Those clients who began a meditation practice did achieve a deeper understanding and a higher quality of life much more quickly than those who did not. This lead to my decision to become a trained meditation teacher in 2002 under the direction of Matthew Flickstein, Ph.D. After completing that training I began to teach meditation to my clients and to follow their practice progress within their therapy sessions. This addition greatly improved the speed at which clients moved through the various issues, behaviors, and traumas of their life.
All clients invariably had either phobias, body pains, issues, or difficult relationships that could not be explained or improved through the combination of traditional psychotherapy, the Enneagram, and meditation practice. Some of these issues appeared not to have originated during their present life. Having experienced past-life-regression myself in 1993 and having personally seen the amazing healing affects of that method, I decided to train with Brian Weiss, M.D., to learn past-life-regression techniques in 2001. I had already trained to be a hypnotherapist at the Naropa University in 1994. I had been using hypnosis in my practice, but only with regard to the client’s current life.
The addition of past-life-regression to the other 3 elements of my therapy practice enabled clients to fill in the missing information. Clients began to race forward in their understanding of themselves and their life. They were able to resolve what had been formerly irresolvable. Then, in 2004 I discovered the groundbreaking work of Michael Newton, Ph.D., in which he regresses clients into the spirit world. This therapy, called life-between-lives, has become a favorite among those clients who want to experience their true nature, their spiritual essence, and the whole story of their personal and spiritual development over eons. In September 2007 I had the opportunity to study with Michael Newton in Chicago. This training provided further insight into methods and skills to more completely access the healing potential of this therapy process. Furthermore, the importance of our enneatype takes on a new dimension when we come to realize that our type remains the same life after life. Therefore, it becomes even more important to overcome the core issue of our personality type as this seems to be an important door to spiritual awakening.
The personal and spiritual growth of those clients who have worked with all four of the key elements in this therapy system which I have come to call Full Spectrum Psychotherapy have progressed at a speed I would have not believed possible. As I witness their growth and understanding of themselves and the true purpose of this precious human life, I am left knowing that those who are courageous enough to come to this work will find true healing and answers to questions they have perhaps asked for many years, or may not have even thought to ask.