My Approach
My Approach
Psychodynamic and Somatic Therapy
Psychodynamic and
Somatic Therapy
I believe a therapeutic relationship built upon trust, safety, and authenticity allows for deep and meaningful exploration. Within the safety of this relationship, you will feel supported while looking at what is painful and challenging. I work collaboratively to help you examine your experiences and feel your emotions, so that together we can better understand the conflicts you are facing.
As a therapist I can help you become more self-aware so that you can gain access to the parts of you that want to be seen and heard. Looking inward in a meaningful way will allow you to achieve new realizations about yourself, your life, and your relationships. Together we will reflect on how new choices, possibilities, and behaviors are possible.
My style is warm, relational, sensitive, and compassionate. By being present and emotionally open I am able to be supportive and, when needed, gently challenge you. In my work I strive to convey my deep respect for who you are as a person and what your unique lived experiences have been.
I believe a therapeutic relationship built upon trust, safety, and authenticity allows for deep and meaningful exploration. Within the safety of this relationship, you will feel supported while looking at what is painful and challenging. I work collaboratively to help you examine your experiences and feel your emotions, so that together we can better understand the conflicts you are facing.
As a therapist I can help you become more self-aware so that you can gain access to the parts of you that want to be seen and heard. Looking inward in a meaningful way will allow you to achieve new realizations about yourself, your life, and your relationships. Together we will reflect on how new choices, possibilities, and behaviors are possible.
My style is warm, relational, sensitive, and compassionate. By being present and emotionally open I am able to be supportive and, when needed, gently challenge you. In my work I strive to convey my deep respect for who you are as a person and what your unique lived experiences have been.
I believe a therapeutic relationship built upon trust, safety, and authenticity allows for deep and meaningful exploration. Within the safety of this relationship, you will feel supported while looking at what is painful and challenging. I work collaboratively to help you examine your experiences and feel your emotions, so that together we can better understand the conflicts you are facing.
As a therapist I can help you become more self-aware so that you can gain access to the parts of you that want to be seen and heard. Looking inward in a meaningful way will allow you to achieve new realizations about yourself, your life, and your relationships. Together we will reflect on how new choices, possibilities, and behaviors are possible.
My style is warm, relational, sensitive, and compassionate. By being present and emotionally open I am able to be supportive and, when needed, gently challenge you. In my work I strive to convey my deep respect for who you are as a person and what your unique lived experiences have been.
Psychodynamic Therapy
My practice of therapy is rooted in Psychodynamic theory, which focuses on how our childhood experiences shape our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors in the present. Unconscious processes affect how we operate as individuals, in relationships, and in the world. Exploration of our inner landscape includes looking at unresolved conflicts, disavowed feelings, unquestioned beliefs and understandings, as well as defenses against pain. There is a focus on emotions and affect while exploring the present and memories of the past, as well as emotional expression that emerges within a session. Working together, the therapist and patient are curious about patterns of experiences, behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and relationships that emerge over the course of therapy. A meaningful shift in the symptoms and struggles that brought the patient into therapy occurs after working to address underlying issues.
The therapeutic relationship, built on trust and safety, is the vehicle for healing. It's a safe and supportive space where you can freely express your thoughts and feelings– even those that may be difficult or uncomfortable. The therapist pays attention to nonverbal communication as well as content that is shared verbally, to open a possibility for a deeper discussion about underlying feelings and wishes, what is being avoided, and subtle shifts in awareness. In the process of therapy, the therapist will provide attunement and containment which will provide the necessary support, so the patient is able to speak more freely, more genuinely feel and express their emotions, and be more open to their inner struggles. The therapeutic relationship can be experienced as a new relationship built upon secure attachment, genuineness, and empathy. Some of the goals of Psychodynamic therapy are to increase self-understanding, become more authentic with yourself and within relationships, move toward a fuller life filled with joy and meaning, develop healthy self-esteem, and increase flexibility.
My practice of therapy is rooted in Psychodynamic theory, which focuses on how our childhood experiences shape our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors in the present. Unconscious processes affect how we operate as individuals, in relationships, and in the world. Exploration of our inner landscape includes looking at unresolved conflicts, disavowed feelings, unquestioned beliefs and understandings, as well as defenses against pain. There is a focus on emotions and affect while exploring the present and memories of the past, as well as emotional expression that emerges within a session. Working together, the therapist and patient are curious about patterns of experiences, behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and relationships that emerge over the course of therapy. A meaningful shift in the symptoms and struggles that brought the patient into therapy occurs after working to address underlying issues.
The therapeutic relationship, built on trust and safety, is the vehicle for healing. It's a safe and supportive space where you can freely express your thoughts and feelings– even those that may be difficult or uncomfortable. The therapist pays attention to nonverbal communication as well as content that is shared verbally, to open a possibility for a deeper discussion about underlying feelings and wishes, what is being avoided, and subtle shifts in awareness. In the process of therapy, the therapist will provide attunement and containment which will provide the necessary support, so the patient is able to speak more freely, more genuinely feel and express their emotions, and be more open to their inner struggles. The therapeutic relationship can be experienced as a new relationship built upon secure attachment, genuineness, and empathy. Some of the goals of Psychodynamic therapy are to increase self-understanding, become more authentic with yourself and within relationships, move toward a fuller life filled with joy and meaning, develop healthy self-esteem, and increase flexibility.
My practice of therapy is rooted in Psychodynamic theory, which focuses on how our childhood experiences shape our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors in the present. Unconscious processes affect how we operate as individuals, in relationships, and in the world. Exploration of our inner landscape includes looking at unresolved conflicts, disavowed feelings, unquestioned beliefs and understandings, as well as defenses against pain. There is a focus on emotions and affect while exploring the present and memories of the past, as well as emotional expression that emerges within a session. Working together, the therapist and patient are curious about patterns of experiences, behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and relationships that emerge over the course of therapy. A meaningful shift in the symptoms and struggles that brought the patient into therapy occurs after working to address underlying issues.
The therapeutic relationship, built on trust and safety, is the vehicle for healing. It's a safe and supportive space where you can freely express your thoughts and feelings– even those that may be difficult or uncomfortable. The therapist pays attention to nonverbal communication as well as content that is shared verbally, to open a possibility for a deeper discussion about underlying feelings and wishes, what is being avoided, and subtle shifts in awareness. In the process of therapy, the therapist will provide attunement and containment which will provide the necessary support, so the patient is able to speak more freely, more genuinely feel and express their emotions, and be more open to their inner struggles. The therapeutic relationship can be experienced as a new relationship built upon secure attachment, genuineness, and empathy. Some of the goals of Psychodynamic therapy are to increase self-understanding, become more authentic with yourself and within relationships, move toward a fuller life filled with joy and meaning, develop healthy self-esteem, and increase flexibility.
Somatic Experiencing®
A traumatic event overwhelms our nervous system’s ability to manage and integrate our experience. Somatic Experiencing®, developed by Peter Levine, is an approach to renegotiate trauma and resolve symptoms of traumatic stress. This approach focuses on the here-and-now and exploration of sensations in the body through focused awareness. In SE® the patient learns how to self-regulate their nervous system and fluidly respond to emotions and perceptions.
Facing a serious threat of danger, our body and mind instinctually turn towards our innate survival responses (fight, flight, freeze, collapse, dissociate, fawn) to keep us safe. If we are unable to successfully move through a survival response, energy gets bound in the body without discharge or resolution. This energy leads to symptoms of trauma, which are both psychological and physiological. When our nervous system gets overwhelmed by the energy of incomplete fight or flight responses, coupled with the emotions of fear and helplessness, we go into freeze or collapse.
In Somatic Experiencing® we work on recognizing our sensations that accompany our emotional reactions. We turn towards internal and external resources to expand our capacity to tolerate activation in the body. Trauma healing occurs when we can access an inner awareness of our body, restore our nervous system’s capacity for self-regulation, and bring our social engagement system back online. The renegotiation of trauma leads to empowerment through choice and resiliency in the face of stress.
I am a current Somatic Experiencing® student who has completed Intermediate Level II training. I will begin Intermediate III training in January 2025.
A traumatic event overwhelms our nervous system’s ability to manage and integrate our experience. Somatic Experiencing®, developed by Peter Levine, is an approach to renegotiate trauma and resolve symptoms of traumatic stress. This approach focuses on the here-and-now and exploration of sensations in the body through focused awareness. In SE® the patient learns how to self-regulate their nervous system and fluidly respond to emotions and perceptions.
Facing a serious threat of danger, our body and mind instinctually turn towards our innate survival responses (fight, flight, freeze, collapse, dissociate, fawn) to keep us safe. If we are unable to successfully move through a survival response, energy gets bound in the body without discharge or resolution. This energy leads to symptoms of trauma, which are both psychological and physiological. When our nervous system gets overwhelmed by the energy of incomplete fight or flight responses, coupled with the emotions of fear and helplessness, we go into freeze or collapse.
In Somatic Experiencing® we work on recognizing our sensations that accompany our emotional reactions. We turn towards internal and external resources to expand our capacity to tolerate activation in the body. Trauma healing occurs when we can access an inner awareness of our body, restore our nervous system’s capacity for self-regulation, and bring our social engagement system back online. The renegotiation of trauma leads to empowerment through choice and resiliency in the face of stress.
I am a current Somatic Experiencing® student who has completed Intermediate Level II training. I will begin Intermediate III training in January 2025.
A traumatic event overwhelms our nervous system’s ability to manage and integrate our experience. Somatic Experiencing®, developed by Peter Levine, is an approach to renegotiate trauma and resolve symptoms of traumatic stress. This approach focuses on the here-and-now and exploration of sensations in the body through focused awareness. In SE® the patient learns how to self-regulate their nervous system and fluidly respond to emotions and perceptions.
Facing a serious threat of danger, our body and mind instinctually turn towards our innate survival responses (fight, flight, freeze, collapse, dissociate, fawn) to keep us safe. If we are unable to successfully move through a survival response, energy gets bound in the body without discharge or resolution. This energy leads to symptoms of trauma, which are both psychological and physiological. When our nervous system gets overwhelmed by the energy of incomplete fight or flight responses, coupled with the emotions of fear and helplessness, we go into freeze or collapse.
In Somatic Experiencing® we work on recognizing our sensations that accompany our emotional reactions. We turn towards internal and external resources to expand our capacity to tolerate activation in the body. Trauma healing occurs when we can access an inner awareness of our body, restore our nervous system’s capacity for self-regulation, and bring our social engagement system back online. The renegotiation of trauma leads to empowerment through choice and resiliency in the face of stress.
I am a current Somatic Experiencing® student who has completed Intermediate Level II training. I will begin Intermediate III training in January 2025.
Let's connect
Start a free 20 minute phone consultation
Let's connect
Start a free 20 minute phone consultation
Lauren Miller Therapy
14583 Big Basin Way Suite 2B, Saratoga, CA 95070
(408) 409-5419
lauren@laurenmillertherapy.com
Lauren A. Miller LMFT provides individual therapy to children and adults across California, serving the communities of Saratoga, Los Gatos, Campbell, Monte Sereno, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Mountain View, and Palo Alto. Lauren provides telehealth therapy to residents of California, Nevada, and Idaho.
©2024 Lauren Miller
Lauren Miller Therapy
14583 Big Basin Way Suite 2B, Saratoga, CA 95070
(408) 409-5419
lauren@laurenmillertherapy.com
Lauren A. Miller LMFT provides individual therapy to children and adults across California, serving the communities of Saratoga, Los Gatos, Campbell, Monte Sereno, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Mountain View, and Palo Alto. Lauren provides telehealth therapy to residents of California, Nevada, and Idaho.
©2024 Lauren Miller
Lauren Miller Therapy
14583 Big Basin Way Suite 2B, Saratoga, CA 95070
(408) 409-5419
lauren@laurenmillertherapy.com
Lauren A. Miller LMFT provides individual therapy to children and adults across California, serving the communities of Saratoga, Los Gatos, Campbell, Monte Sereno, San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, Mountain View, and Palo Alto. Lauren provides telehealth therapy to residents of California, Nevada, and Idaho.
©2024 Lauren Miller