Having been in and out of talk therapy for thirty years (during the course of which I've seen many counselors and gained many valuable insights), I had long ago reached the point where therapy had begun to feel like a dry, clinical routine. I had learned to talk circles around all my 'problems' without ever getting to the heart of things. I felt like a therapy burnout and it seemed I was just going through the motions of addressing my goals for healing on an intellectual level.
I met Rain three months ago in a community of shared spiritual practice and learned that she offered counseling in addition to massage and other healing modalities. I booked a session, and it just clicked. Here is someone with the degree of therapeutic skill, spiritual maturity and genuine compassion that has enabled her to reach me at the place where all true healing finally happens: The Heart. It's been said that what every human wants is to be seen, to be heard, and to be loved. Rain fulfilled all three of those basic needs from our very first session. Her centered, calm and grounding presence, her open acceptance and attentiveness, and her unguarded demeanor put me at ease and won my trust without reservation. In her care, I feel unconditionally loved and understood and valued as an equal - altogether a feeling I have never before experienced in a therapist (in a best friend, perhaps, but not in a therapist or counselor). When I reached out to her in crisis, she told me, "I take your healing very seriously." And she does.
In only a few weeks, I have significantly turned my energies away from chronically self-destructive thought patterns and behaviors, and opened my heart and mind to a more loving relationship to myself and a courageous willingness to accept the love and healing that are available to me, both in the comfort of her office and out in my daily life, where the relationships and circumstances that once felt fearful now begin to be revealed as opportunities for personal growth and connection.
Rain's lifelong background in meditation and spiritual practice have gifted her with authentic qualities of mindfulness, equanimity and loving-kindness. And her psychological training has empowered her to give the kind of meaningful feedback and guidance that has won my respect, as well as my trust.
Finding the right therapist can be a very personal and challenging process. I can't say if she might be the best counselor for anyone and everyone. But for me, having her healing presence in my life at this time is a miraculous blessing. read more