In Our Self Discovery Group 

we create a safe and secure space to explore, share, and discover who you are, within the context of your past, present, and hopes and dreams for the future. This is not a simple question, and therefore does not require nor deserve a simple answer. 

 

This group is specifically for older teens and young adults (18-28) who seek a therapeutic space to explore the unique context within which their identity develops, and who are open to investigating the many facets of who they are. A discovery approach is used, which is very different from the gender affirming care model.

 

Our group does not provide any documentation for medical follow

up or medicalization. Rather, it is for those who would like to address their many struggles and challenges, instead of assumed to fit into a narrow definition of what it is to be human and their specific experience. In our group, they get to explore questions with their peers in a safe setting, free of gender rules, specific prescriptions, or labels - where their authentic selves can be understood and simultaneously hold space for uncertainty. 

 

A stance of curiosity will be taken to illuminate feelings, patterns, and repair emotional injuries, as well as advance self-awareness, self-compassion, self-agency, and resilience.

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In the current rush to diagnose and medicalize, there can be a void of exploration and true self discovery that the evidence-based models of psychotherapy (psychodynamic, psychoanalytic, systems, cognitive behavioral, trauma-informed, and relational models) have provided us for decades. These models have been instrumental in helping individuals make sense of their distress. I offer this open and traditional approach to psychotherapy in a group setting.

 

There will be no effort to influence any individual in any particular direction. In fact, we offer the exact opposite: a therapeutic space to explore who you are, what you've experienced, and how it's impacted you as you have continued to grow and develop. Ours is a secure and therapeutic space to discover yourself, gain clarity, and lead with confidence and a real sense of autonomy in your decisions about your future, whatever they may be. 

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This is a group for those who are interested in exploring a psychotherapeutic option rather than the very popular gender-affirming-care choice, readily available, which often partners with medicalization and surgical interventions.

 

This specialty group is unique in that we first explore and discover the wider context in which our distress has manifested,

so that we can make informed decisions as to how to move forward in our lives - The option of getting to know yourself in the greater context of the human experience, before deciding on a path towards invasive, and often irreversible, physical interventions.

 

We offer the perspective that there is always the option and the time to follow the medicalization route at any given time. In our group we first have the opportunity to tease out any whispers of doubt and gain internal permission to follow our own, unique path -

with authentic, informed consent. ​​​​​

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