Psychotherapy & Medication Management
"We need to learn to still the mind so we can experientially understand why we are prone to trauma, why we suffer, and why we experience joy only some of the time in life. Stilling the mind requires time and effort and relies on the practices of Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Meditation. As we gradually learn to see how our internal mechanisms experience sensations, feelings, and thoughts, we begin to have a choice in how we react. Having choices and choosing happiness and non-suffering is possible and is the doorway to the epitome of human experience."
- E. John Hattom
OVERVIEW
As we heal the trauma of our past we naturally begin to inhabit the present moment with less fear. What is just as important as healing our past trauma is cultivating a relationship with the world where we are no longer at risk of becoming retraumatized. While this may sound like wishful thinking, the fact that we can heal trauma through developing healthy ways of relating to our past means we can also apply practicable and effective tools for relating wisely to our present day life. A wise relationship with all aspects of life gives us the best chance of freeing ourselves from the suffering posed by trauma, past, present, and future.
There is nothing more preventative of trauma than lovingkindness and compassion. That is because when you are engaging in these practices, you are accessing the best and most mature parts of your brain and these are the parts that can best take care of you and prevent trauma.
Wise understanding of life: training in understanding impermanence and suffering.
This is not the wisdom we normally associate with practical life experience or rationally studying history. Rather, it is the wisdom we experience when we clearly see people and the world in the way they actually exist as opposed to the way we are conditioned to see them.
Harmless Conduct: training in harmlessness towards ourselves and all other beings.
This is concerned with cultivating and living by a code of harmlessness towards oneself and towards others. This is a high standard of moral conduct that teaches us how to respect and protect ourselves in addition to not harming anyone or anything we come in contact with.
Stillness: training in applying effort to being harmless and beneficial, being harmlessly mindful, and cultivating deep stillness and relaxation in meditation.
FEE SCHEDULE
Introductory Session 1.5 Hour --- $110
Regular Session with discussion, instructions, and guided meditation 1.0 Hour --- $80
Intensive Session with discussion, instructions, and two guided meditations 2.0 Hours --- $140
If you’re experiencing financial hardship, do not hesitate to get in touch.
John never turns any serious students away.