Four Pillars of Successful Therapy

Written By: Marlo Drago

Successful therapy can be dependent on a lot of factors. Through my experience, I have found that there are FOUR main factors, that together, can create the ability to shift our thinking and make positive changes.

Self-Love

You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.​ Buddha

How can we expect ourselves to put in ALL of this dedication and work into our mental health and wellness if we don't love ourselves? Self-love is KEY to being successful in self-healing. Generally when we are feeling low and are seeking help with our mental health it is because there are deep-seeded (or in your face) signs of self-loathing such as low-self confidence, self-sabotage, body issues, food issues, control issues, self-harm, a harmed inner-child, reacting to our kids and then being like WTF did I do that for they just wanted a banana?!? My practice starts with giving you a space to start to give yourself some grace. Some kindness. Some patience. Some validation that times have been rough and some guidance and support to help you start to love yourself again. When we love ourselves, we are more willing to feel like we DESERVE good things and we are more willing to put the effort in.

Brain-Body Connection

For humans... as long as the mind is defending itself against invisible assaults, our closest bonds are threatened, along with our ability to imagine, plan, play, learn, and pay attention to other people's needs. - Bessel Van De Kolk, M.D

Our body holds SO much of our life experience that we are not even aware of. Sometimes we just have this feeling that something isn't right. Sometimes we start getting increased headaches, pain, tightness in our chest, tummy aches. Sometimes in certain situations our stomach turns or we cry and we just don't know why?! Our body knows. Our bodies are SO SMART and by expressing these symptoms are trying to tell us watch out, seek help! By learning more about the brain-body connection we can open up so much more about our emotions, feelings and deep seated experiences. Through learning about this connection, using breathwork and bodywork we will explore where you are holding your emotions and help you release it.

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is about questioning our truths and choosing the ones that benefit our inner self

How can we work towards feeling better, building healthy coping skills, and having better mental wellness? By first understanding what it is we need to work on. Many times I have worked with clients who have come to me asking for help with a specific issue and once we actual start talking they come to realize that it is a small symptom of a bigger issue that was hiding out in the Rapunzel's tower of their body. Self-awareness is all about learning about YOU. I will help you gain insights about who you are: your current habits, patterns, cycles, thoughts, relationships, life and how it relates to your past. Only then can we work towards building skills and tools to better your mental wellness in the present day and future. I will help you gain self-awareness and hopefully get you to a point of " ah ha!' when the chaos of what is happening starts to make sense.

Self-Care and Coping Skills

Self Care is about making changes that bring positivity and joy to your life

I will help you identify practices and strategies rooted in research and science (not just bubble baths and a glass of wine) to help you better your mental wellness and happiness. I work from holistic approach utilizing Western psychology/social work practices and Eastern wellness and mindfulness philosophy to create a space where clients have the ability to learn and grow as a person by learning psychoeducation as well as meditation, and wellness, dependent on their needs. I cater to each client to help them create a SELF CARE TOOL KIT that works for them that they can go to to help them self-soothe, work through stress, conflict or situations where we need support.