Craig Smith

For the first fifteen years of my career, I worked with populations who suffered extensive trauma. The dynamic of trauma often occurs when a person is terrified of what is happening to them, while simultaneously rendered powerless to do anything about it. People often feel stuck in that moment or stuck in the process of feeling powerless. A key part of healing is having someone understand what you went through, as well as reclaiming the power to lead one's own life.

Depression can color everything in our worldview as hopeless and meaningless, as if there are no good choices to be made. It's a normal part of the human experience considering everything or everyone we love is time limited, and we have the ability to be aware of that end. Depression can also be a part of process which clears the deck, so to speak, and can make room for new meaning or purposes to surface.

From the moment we're born, before we take our first breath of air, we experience anxiety. Anxiety is a normal and natural part of our experience. However, it can also become demonstrative part of our daily experience. Disconnecting us from our ability to make choices or interpret what is happening around us. People often find themselves in conflict with their own anxiety, further exasperating the problem. Therapy can be a great place to make peace with anxiety and find meaning in it.

Making decisions in this world can be difficult. We're often stuck with the feeling there are no good choices to make. Uncertainty of the future and anxiety can riddle us. We might seek out destructive means to cope, in the hopes of escape. Learning through therapy what is personally important and meaningful, clarifies so much of the decision making process. A sense of purpose is a motivator for reaching one's person's potential, as well as great aide in bearing the suffering of life.

Therapy is a microcosm of life in that you need to choose the direction you go in. In my role, asking clarifying questions can bring out the direction an individual wants to go, as well as all the scars, guilt, or any other energies in our invisible world that act as barriers. I can support people with acceptance and understanding, but I don't need to solve their problems or shape their direction. Everday as a therapist I see that each individual has a drive to do that for themselves.

One of the difficulties of suffering is when it persists and builds a gravity in which all of life is increasingly pulled into. However, there will always be times when the problem isn't as intense. What was different about those times? What actually worked. Those are the clues and resources to uncover and put to use in moving life in the direction of your own choosing. We don't move forward in life based on our deficits. We move forward based on our strengths.