Empathy, experience, empowerment.
The decision to come off of psychiatric drugs and embark on a new life without them is one of the most challenging, gratifying, and transformative experiences a person can have in their lifetime.
Drawing on my own experience coming off of SSRIs, as well as nearly a decade of supporting other people in a professional capacity through all stages of this journey, I am passionate about my clients and the work we do together.
Some of the ways I have worked with clients in the past:
- Weighing the pros and cons of the decision to come off psych drugs
- Mapping out the possibilities of what a taper and withdrawal process might entail
- Preparing their mind and body for the experience of tapering, including exploration of emotional and spiritual matters, building and fortifying their support systems, and anything else needed to be optimally set up for the experience ahead
- Helping devise strategies for contending with withdrawal symptoms that may arise
- Helping build capacity for confidence and self-determination on the question of when to cut and when to hold
- The more complex and subtle challenges that arise after a taper, such as career shifts, relationship stress, grief and loss, anger at the system, etc.
- Identifying and mitigating drug-induced harms and injuries
- Improving communication and facilitating trust with medical and mental health providers
This list is by no means exhaustive but it gives a sense of what roles I am comfortable taking in the lives of my clients. Regardless of what our goals are in working together, the strategies I encourage are centered around the idea of “healing through living”. In practice, this is about finding opportunities in normal, day-to-day living to promote healing. This is ultimately what I am most passionate about, because it requires nothing new beyond what already exists in our lives, and the ancient inborn wisdom of our bodies to seek balance and vitality.