Tracy Bryce Farmer LCSW PC psychotherapy 503-451-3267 [email protected]
I had a long background in the arts and teaching before I came to this work. In the classroom, I realized that I could facilitate an atmosphere that allowed people to be themselves and share all of their thoughts and feelings. I began to study modern psychoanalysis in New York City, a visionary take on psychodynamic theory. Modern analysts support people to "say everything." We don't shy away from helping people express all of their feelings, even their angry ones. We live in a society where perfectly normal emotions such as anger, jealousy and fear are forbidden healthy expression. Being unable to express a wide range of authentic feelings creates distress. I will always help you look at the family, social and political environments that are creating obstacles for your well-being. I combine modern psychoanalysis with family systems theory. I use motivational interviewing and CBT/DBT skills to help people address behavior that is no longer serving them.
Contemporary brain science says that human brains are capable of change throughout the lifespan. Brain images show what modern psychoanalysts have always known, namely that "we sculpt each other in relationship." Depending on the quality of relationships we were privy to as young people, our brains will have a particular bent, tendencies toward feeling and thinking about ourselves as we were trained to do. If we are survivors of neglect or abuse, verbal, emotional, physical or sexual, our brains will repeat those patterns of thinking and behaving. We end up hurting ourselves and our relationships with behaviors that were created to help us survive. Talk therapy provides unrivaled support for change. The evidence is in: the most up-do-date research indicates that people have the best outcomes if they bring talk therapy on board with any medication they might be prescribed.