Approaches

Therapy that Gets You

Why do you specialize in working with women?

The short answer is that girls and boys develop differently.

Here is the slightly longer answer:

At a fairly young age (2 or 3), boys realize they are different from their mothers and start to look to – and rely upon – the parent who is more like them: their fathers.

You might say that boys grow away from – or out of – the relationship with their mothers (towards dad).

It’s a trajectory that determines how boys relate to women, to themselves, and to their feelings – and it starts with a sense of difference.

Girls, on the other hand, don’t ever have to recognize themselves as separate or different – biologically they are the same as their mothers.

What fuels girls’ need to separate and differentiate is emotional.

And it doesn’t happen until early adolescence – at which point, they launch into a process of keeping some of their similarities with their moms and rejecting others.

The first signs of real differentiation and separation from mothers usually happens around ages 11 or 12 (you know, the seemingly sassy girl who is pushing all of her mother’s buttons).

Girls grow through – and in the context of – the mother daughter relationship rather than away and out of it.

What this means is that girls and women understand and approach relationships in a fundamentally different way from boys and men.

And yet, despite these fundamental differences…

…the study of psychology still tends to focus more on male norms.

Information about psychology specific to women is usually learned only by taking an elective course.

While the differences between men and women may seem evident, the fact remains that to truly grasp the relational conflicts, parental relationship dilemmas and interpersonal expectations experienced by women, an expertise in the development of the female psyche is required.

We think you deserve that expertise as you endeavor to do this work. That’s why we gear our work towards the needs of women.

Therapeutic Philosophy

As Ernest Hemingway wrote in his novel A Farewell to Arms, “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong in the broken places.”

Therapy makes use of these breaks, and fractures, by helping you understand your struggles in a way that enables insight and growth as part of a healing process.

Therapy can help you regain a sense of balance and peace of mind, build more satisfying relationships, develop more effective communication, and find the sense of direction and meaning that allows you to truly thrive.

At IntrinPsych Woman, we are influenced by the perspective of Integral Psychology.

An integral approach to mental health is built on the recognition that human life consists of numerous interrelated facets, each of which plays a key role in the your well-being.

We consider all of these interrelated parts of the human being (biological, emotional, cognitive, relational, cultural, and spiritual) to completely understand you and your unique life circumstances.

In addition to the many different schools of psychology, we integrate insights from neuroscience, mind/body approached, nutrition, spiritual/religious traditions (Western and Eastern), and alternative health practices.