Nani Waddoups (she/her)

Attachment Theory

Attachment Theory is an extraordinarily helpful tool to understand how we developed our baseline relational styles. By studying our earliest emotional attachments to our primary caregiver(s), we can understand how we developed our sense of trust, security, and self-assuredness in relationship to others. Knowing your attachment style can become a navigational compass in relationships.

Mindfulness-based

My approach is influenced by the Buddhist concept of 'dependent arising,' which means that whatever arises in us is the result of multiple conditions. Part of therapy is exploring the conditions of the moment to see how they may be influencing what is currently arising in one's attention or through one's behavioral inclinations.

Existential

My therapeutic philosophy is rooted in the existential belief that we want meaning and purpose for our lives, and that we have the strengths to make our lives how we want them to be. My job is to creatively engage in the process of clarifying that vision and supporting the efforts to navigate the way there.

Depression

There are innumerable conditions affecting our moods at all times. Sometimes we are aware of them -- a loss, a joy, anticipation. Other times these conditions are outside of our consciousness -- the pain in the world touching our hearts, a lingering dream. Therapy helps to characterize the quality of an emotional state, and then explores our ability to affect the conditions at play.

Anxiety

Part of the Existential philosophy that guides my practice is the acceptance that Anxiety is a part of being human. Awareness that our time is limited, and ultimately we alone are responsible with what we do with our lives, creates a natural anxiety. When this anxiety rises to a distressing level, therapy helps to recalibrate, and transform that energy into fuel for a self-directed life.

Relationship / Marriage Issues

Though it may seem like therapy cliche, exploration of our attachment style in our family of origin is critical in the illumination of adult relational patterns. How secure we are in the world of relationships is influenced by our earliest attachments. Are we trusting? Or are we in anticipation of a betrayal? Can we be authentic and transparent? Or do we fear abandonment and rejection?

Loss or Grief

Grief is a deeply personal experience, and everyone processes thier grief in their own unique way. There is no right way to grieve, no timeline on which we can mark when grieving 'should be over,' no roadmap of what to expect after a loss. My work with clients experiencing loss is to validate all of their responses as right for them, and as a necessary part of the transformational process.

Coronavirus/COVID-19

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has introduced a myriad of new conditions that impact both our logistical and internal worlds. The effort to navigate all that is arising in us can be exhausting, and the unpredictability of the future is mirrored by the fickleness of our emotional responses. My work is to support healthy coping and emergence from this time changed in ways of your own choosing.