Life transitions come in all shapes and sizes.
At Liberated Mind Therapy we specialize in helping you navigate these spaces, whether they are relationship, health, grief/loss, work, faith, or other types of transitions.
For more information about a specific type of transition click on the word below to jump to the section you are looking for:
Faith Transitions
At Liberated Mind Therapy we follow the idea that Faith, like many of the complex aspects of human life, changes over the life-course. People change, going through stages of development. This includes faith.
At present we use Fowler to make sense of faith in development:
Stage 0 – “Primal or Undifferentiated” faith (birth to 2 years), is characterized by an early learning of the safety of their environment (i.e. warm, safe and secure vs. hurt, neglect and abuse). If consistent nurture is experienced, one will develop a sense of trust and safety about the universe and the divine. Conversely, negative experiences will cause one to develop distrust with the universe and the divine. Transition to the next stage begins with integration of thought and languages which facilitates the use of symbols in speech and play.
Stage 1 – “Intuitive-Projective” faith (ages of three to seven), is characterized by the psyche’s unprotected exposure to the Unconscious, and marked by a relative fluidity of thought patterns. Religion is learned mainly through experiences, stories, images, and the people that one comes in contact with.
Stage 2 – “Mythic-Literal” faith (mostly in school children), stage two persons have a strong belief in the justice and reciprocity of the universe, and their deities are almost always anthropomorphic. During this time metaphors and symbolic language are often misunderstood and are taken literally.
Stage 3 – “Synthetic-Conventional” faith (arising in adolescence; aged 12 to adulthood) characterized by conformity to religious authority and the development of a personal identity. Any conflicts with one’s beliefs are ignored at this stage due to the fear of threat from inconsistencies.
Stage 4 – “Individuative-Reflective” faith (usually mid-twenties to late thirties) a stage of angst and struggle. The individual takes personal responsibility for his or her beliefs and feelings. As one is able to reflect on one’s own beliefs, there is an openness to a new complexity of faith, but this also increases the awareness of conflicts in one’s belief.
Stage 5 – “Conjunctive” faith (mid-life crisis) acknowledges paradox and transcendence relating reality behind the symbols of inherited systems. The individual resolves conflicts from previous stages by a complex understanding of a multidimensional, interdependent “truth” that cannot be explained by any particular statement.
Stage 6 – “Universalizing” faith, or what some might call “enlightenment.” The individual would treat any person with compassion as he or she views people as from a universal community, and should be treated with universal principles of love and justice.
Gender Transitions
We work with and affirm clients of all sexes and genders at Liberated Mind Therapy!
We approach gender as a non-binary, but rather as a spectrum.
Many people facing a transition related to their sex and/or gender approach mental health counseling with some trepidation. Stereotypes about sexual orientation and gender identity creep into a therapist’s office and can impact a person’s process of change. It can be challenging to find a place for therapy where you feel safe. Wherever you are on your journey with your own conception of self around your sex/and or gender, e.g., heterosexual or Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) and/or just questioning: you should not have to wonder about your therapist’s capacity to understand you! It bears repeating: we work with and affirm clients of all sexes and genders at Liberated Mind Therapy!
The stereotypes around “straightness” means that most therapy is theorized and tested around heterosexual norms and often fails to ethically address valid concerns for transitioning clients.
We always strive to offer a safe, discrete, and mindful alternative; what you get at Liberated Mind Therapy is a holistic treatment plan to work together as you negotiate any life transition related to your sex or gender.
Health Transitions + Grief/Loss
When it comes to transitions related to your health, at Liberated Mind Therapy we follow the model established by Mayo Clinic suggesting that health varies across the life-course and as such it must be understood based on the stage of life being experienced/lived. This means each client’s needs are where our therapy plan will begin. No two clients are in the same place as such your situation is what dictates where we begin and grow. We do not base our treatment planning on the antiquated medical model with its rigid understanding of human health.
Your starting place is our starting place when it comes to a health transition!
Relationship Transitions + Grief/Loss
To understand how relationships transition and grow, we draw from a number of prominent schools of thought, and most especially from the work of John & Julie Gottman.
Life transitions are like tides that can overwhelm even the strongest of marriages. The death of a loved one, the birth of a child, a change in a job or financial situation, a move, an injury or illness — these are all external forces that test a relationship.
We’ve had to navigate our own sea of change in the past six months. Constantino went from working at a large company to working from home for a small non-profit, while David left a career in fiction writing to work a more traditional 9-to-5 job at a small tech company.
This sudden shift has left our relationship feeling unmoored, and it has taken work and intentionality to stay afloat.
David’s new tech job has an intense training program that leaves him drained at the end of the day. When he gets home from work, he doesn’t want to talk or connect. He just wants time to unplug.
Constantino’s non-profit job has a lot of operational challenges, so at the end of the day, he wants to share his problems with David and talk them through.
You can see where this is going.
How do we stay connected when our minds are preoccupied by our own stresses?
We’ve had to be intentional about meeting each other’s needs and creating space for affection and intimacy. These have been some of our best practices.
For more follow this link to: 4 Ways to Stay Connected During Life Transitions
Work Transitions
Based on work coming out of the Stanford University Center for Leaning & Organizational Effectiveness we recognize that every person responds to change in a different way: some of us thrive during ambiguity and look forward to new challenges, while others become paralyzed with fear of the unknown. When a significant change occurs, there can be many factors contributing to increased feelings of stress and pressure — including perceived unfairness of the change, frustration due to a lack of communication by leaders, or fear of future changes. In many cases, these thoughts and concerns can lead to a lack of engagement — including lower productivity, distraction, and decreased team cohesion.
At Liberated Mind Therapy we help you to find solid footing during such a time of transition.
More insights at Life Kit: LINK
Other Transitions
As we noted at the top of this page, Transitions come in all shapes and sizes. The approach we take at Liberated Mind Therapy is modeled on the emerging research supporting best practices as you transition through various challenges in life.
No matter the translation you are facing, we are here to help you navigate this space to come out on the other side with renewed purpose and meaning!
Now is the time; send us a note; let’s begin the journey together through this time of transition!
