Jackie Kosak (she|her)

An adjustment disorder can be any traumatic experience that causes significant distress, and can occur at any point throughout the course of life. We often think of death, illness, and aging as the existential foundations of personal trauma, but of course, our connection (or lack of connection) to others is absolutely central to our understanding of ourselves, impacting how we move through the world, how we feel inside, and even our ability to locate the source of our distress.

Personal change and discovery can be empowering, energizing, and joyful - it can also be disorienting, frustrating, and lonely. In times of great change, it can be helpful to carve out time for focus and integration. We can strengthen our capacity for inevitabilities, challenging feelings, disappointments, old wounds, and also move forth into uncharted waters with a sense of acceptance and even openness.

Our understanding of selfhood emerges from early experiences with important figures, colliding with our singular temperament, or way-of-being-in-the-world. This formative encounter is central to who you are and who you have become. It is also possible to change, to heal, depart from our origins, and liberate ourselves through a process of exploration, fierce compassion, and creativity.

We are all connected to one another other, and we try to live a liberated life within hidden systems of inequity. Whether you consider yourself to be privileged or marginalized, the reality is we are all a part of oppressive structures we were born into, and this effects our ability to thrive. What can we do about this? Feminist therapy recognizes systems of power, and the harm they cause, centering transparency, empowerment, and the importance of the interpersonal as paths to freedom.

We are all connected to one another other, and we strive to live a liberated life within hidden systems of inequity. Whether you consider yourself to be privileged or marginalized, the reality is we are all a part of oppressive structures we were born into, and this effects our ability to thrive. What can we do about this? Feminist therapy recognizes systems of power, and the harm they cause, centering transparency, empowerment, and the importance of the interpersonal as paths to freedom.

We are all interconnected, and struggle to live lives tangled up in hidden systems of inequity. Whether you consider yourself to be privileged or marginalized, the reality is we are all born into oppressive social structures , and this affects our ability to thrive. What can we do about this? Feminist therapy recognizes systems of power, and the harm they cause, centering transparency, empowerment, and the importance of the interpersonal as paths to freedom.

When we become stuck, often the tools and methods we usually use to overcome problems no longer work. Tapping into our creative source is one of the most effective known methods to discover and implement new ways to be. This is not something you need expertise to do. As an art therapist, I am trained as both therapist and creative witness and guide. I will use art in your treatment to help draw out the inherent energy and wisdom within you, so you may explore, integrate, and heal.

Existential therapy builds upon fundamental human paradoxes: Somehow we are each more than the sum of our parts. We are each alone, but need connection. We search to find true meaning in life, but it is up to us to create it. We strive for liberation, but truest freedom consents to responsibility. As humans we experience the painful possibility of self-awareness and comprehension of our own mortality. If these contradictions are central for you, the existential approach offers much.