Jamie Woelk

Hi. I'm Jamie. I’m smart, quirky, and introverted. And a deep feeler. I’ll notice things about you that most people don’t and I’ll point at things that most people won’t. I’ll meet you with a depth of presence that’s pretty rare in this world, and I’ll create lots of space for what’s true for you to emerge. I love models and frames and theories and will share bits and pieces with you that might help you see outside of the cages you feel stuck in. I will give you lots of space to explore what's true for you, while offering my perspective and more direction if it seems helpful or if you request that. While keeping the focus on you, I bring my humanness into the room, which hopefully allows you to explore and share all of your experience more freely as well. I’ve spent much of my life feeling like I had to choose between the pain of draining, unsatisfying, misaligned relationship or the pain of being alone. That’s mostly not true for me anymore. But the time I’ve spent with heartbreak, agonizing over relationship decisions, and feeling helplessly alone mean that I’ve developed some good instincts on where we might look for your bioluminescence in the dark places. Therapy with me looks like some combination of these four things: Sharing your story Sometimes you just need to be deeply seen and heard with compassion, acceptance, and empathy. You need to be reminded that you are ok, that what you are feeling makes sense, and that you deserve care and attention and support. Figuring some things out Compassion might not feel like enough, though. Sometimes you want more active help sorting through some of the burdens you’re carrying. I’ll ask questions, offer alternatives ways of looking at things, point out and question some of your assumptions, and sometimes suggest resources or strategies. We can use Internal Family Systems to help you clarify what’s happening inside of you gently and with lots of compassion. I’ll also ask you questions about what’s happening in your body because it’s a good source of information that we sometimes ignore. Using a modality to work on a stuck spot We might decide to use a more structured approach to tackle a particular issue. The ones I use most often are EMDR and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. EMDR can help you process distressing memories and the painful beliefs stuck in those memories. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy can help you clarify what’s most important to you, make peace with discomfort, and live a more meaningful life. Uncovering and working through relational patterns Most of us are struggling in some way with connection, whether we feel disconnected from ourselves or are struggling in relationships with others. You are probably using some strategies in relationships that used to serve you well, but aren’t working so well anymore. Some of them might be really hard for you to see. Since they will likely show up in your connection with me, we can look at some of those strategies and explore ways to shift the patterns so you can have more fulfilling relationships.