Suzanne E Kolbe

Behind and beneath behavior there is meaning and an attempt to communicate. Every family history includes heroes who have gone to extraordinary measures to survive and protect themselves and those they love from real crisis. Sometimes it is hard to recognize that the crisis has ended or that the strategies that helped people survive are no longer helpful in a different time and place. Sometimes it is hard to cope with pain and confusion that others can’t see and is hard to describe in words. Sometimes real events overwhelm and shatter every coping strategy we have learned from earlier generations and our own life experiences. I work from the perspectives of attachment theory and human development, utilizing practice models that are good fits for specific individual and family situations, honoring family cultural values and practices. Individual therapy is effective with adults and some adolescents. Children do best in the context of family work including caregiver support. Addressing practical here and now issues can reveal deeper patterns, often (not always) established in the first few years of life. Shining light on the patterns and on resources that you may not have considered, provides choices to move forward. The work is hard and you are worth it. My role is to stand by you, share knowledge, and create safety.