"If you’re reading this I want to encourage you in your search for a therapist. Making that first call is one of the most difficult and hopeful things you can do about your situation."
My specialty areas are depression and addictions. I’ve been a practicing psychologist
for
over 35 years and I love the work. My focus in the last few years has shifted to a more
spiritual
orientation; this is due to working with people who are in recovery, and also relates to
my
own
journey. Spiritual based psychotherapy is not about religion, but about keeping an open
mind.
The truth about psychotherapy is that it works; people do get better. I work from a variety of orientations including Family Systems, Jungian theory, CBT, and mindfulness. It’s my job to help you take the energy that impelled you to make that phone call and begin the healing process.
– John A Otte | PsyD
720.635.6274 || Get in Touch
The Therapeutic Alliance
This refers to the attachment between therapist and client. The attachment itself is about the mutual goal of forming a relationship focused on the healing of the client. The fact that our society supports such a relationship is a bit of a miracle. The relationship is protected by law, and for that reason and several others is, I believe, sacred.
Making the Unconscious, Conscious
The second mechanism has to do with psychoanalytic theory.
The
truth that we operate with unconscious motivations due to
repressed emotions and memories is more accepted today than it was in Freud’s time.
However, many still resist, in spite of significant supporting research from
academic communities and mental health professionals.
The Desire to Get Well
it is my belief and experience that everyone has an innate desire to get well. This desire is sometimes matched by a shadow desire to remain sick and destructive. However, provided adequate support, the desire to get well is much more powerful and clients inevitably begin to blossom, provided they are willing to do the work of therapy which can be very difficult and painful.
