16573 Los Gatos Almaden Road Los Gatos, California 95032
(408) 358-2218 x 423
fax:(408) 356-4728
or email me: mtoews@earthlink.net

Meeting times also available in the mid peninsula at:

Integrated Healing Arts in Palo Alto

4153 El Camino Way, Suite A

(650) 493-1935 x3                  

Background:
The credentials read as MA in Counseling Psychology and Certified Process Therapist, but these are each just a title. The story giving them substance is an array of life experiences which have led me to believe that the story of what life is about is a co-creation between the experience and our perception of experience.  Reality brings its part of the story, and I bring belief systems, attitudes, somatic experience and choices. I hold this belief in the background for myself when I work with individuals, couples, adolescents and groups.

We often come into therapy because of a sense of discomfort or downright pain. That's as good a motivator as any, and if it catalyses the process of waking up from the familial, cultural, and personal inventions surrounding and within us, then our pain has provided an awakening. As a therapist, I stand in awe of this process and enjoy facilitating what arises.

Whatever our beliefs, they have gotten us through so far...and, if they are given room to speak, will open to amendment, rearrangement, embellishment, redecision or rewriting. New perspectives then become apparent, with attendant new possibilities.

We sometimes find that, despite our highest intentions, we have not been able to make a new decision active in our life.  Such an occurrence can be an outcome of the dominance of the subconscious mind over our conscious intent.  I provide ways of working with the subconscious, including EMDR, which facilitates communication between the right brain (where some believe the subconscious resides) and the left brain.  EMDR has been shown to be effective in alleviating PTSD, a disorder resulting from trauma.  My belief is that entrenched problems can also be a result of the everyday ‘traumas’ of life, including less florid experiences such as emotionally distant parenting, living with an unpredictable person in the home, having to deal with a bully at school or work, etc.  People don’t just become ‘weird’…something has affected them!  I provide perspective, respect and a compassionate approach to the ‘weird’ stuff that people are dealing with in their lives.

     A shift in perspective can be frightening, exciting or fun, slow or fast, specific or broad in its impact on our experience. In my book, it's the big story.

To learn more information about me and what services are available, please click on the following options:

• Individual Process Therapy - Connect with yourself to resolve your issues and E X P A N D your sense of self, belief systems, options available, physical self, relationship to others and to the world...developing inclusivity and an easier relationship to people and experiences.
• Couples Therapy - Learn to be separate yet connected, to communicate in a loving healthy way, and to see and be seen in truth and love.
• Adolescent Therapy - Being a teenager is a sometimes difficult job. With respect and understanding, I offer adolescents an opportunity to discover their truth, and to go about the business of growing up, developing self respect and relating in a healthy way to others.
• Group Offerings – Take a look and ckeck back for updates of groups I will be offering.