We don't just tell stories. We ARE stories.
We don't just tell stories. We are stories.*
it all begins with story...
All of us have stories, but even more so, all of us ARE stories. They make up the very fabric of our existence and penetrate every aspect of our lives. These narratives are what create our identity, our understanding of our past, our present and our future.
We believe that one of the most sacred places on earth is the landscape of the heart. Our deepest wounds occur within the context of relationship, and we believe that it is in the context of a safe relationship that we can find our deepest healing. As therapists, we do not hand out tips and techniques, giving advice in how to live or telling you what to do.
Restoration Counseling has been deeply impacted and shaped (both personally and professionally) by the work of Dr. Dan Allender, founder of The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology, and founder of The Allender Center. We subscribe to the deeply hopeful, kind and courageous work that integrates narrative therapy, inner healing and spiritual warfare.
As quoted from The Allender Center website:
"We believe that each of us was designed for Eden, living in perfect relationship—a state of shalom—with ourselves, each other, and God. But now, shalom has been shattered and we are separated from Eden, living in a world marred by brokenness, disconnection, and trauma. By trying to protect ourselves in the midst of harm and cut ourselves off from future harm, we create a false Eden in which our hearts are hardened to both the reality of our trauma and the hope of our restoration. The defensive structures we turn to, often marked by vows, dissociation, addiction, and sabotage, further bind us to our trauma and separate us from the true goodness and delight of living in relationship with ourselves, others, and God.
Only when we recognize that shalom has been shattered, and that our attempts to recreate it have left us even more broken and disconnected, can we move authentically toward the restoration of shalom and the promise of deep, lasting healing."
Often, counseling settles for external change in behavior. And while this is good and helpful, it does not enter the categories of the heart into which Jesus ultimately seeks to bring freedom. We don't settle. We hold out hope for true life-change that comes from heart-change. Our aim is to help you investigate the stories of your life, to see where you have been marred and wounded, and then to take up the pen to re-story your future in new, transformative and adventurous ways.
You were meant to be epic.
*Daniel Taylor, The Healing Power of Stories