Mark C. Bigley LCSW

Acceptance is the key to all our challenges. The acceptance of self helps us to discover and move through the most difficult of challenges. Acceptance helps us to acknowledge the pain and to release it, in order to move on to the next moment of our lives. Acceptance instead of resistance to ourselves, helps to release suffering instead of increasing it. There is nothing that we've done or failed to do that keeps us from receiving forgiveness and forgiving ourselves and if necessary, others.

The key component of the therapeutic relationship that is central for me establish with my client is a sense of trust and rapport. My experience of a helpful way to establish this is by listening to the story of your life that you choose to reveal and for me to respond with acceptance, understanding, compassion and sensitive questions that help you discover yourself.

As I grew in my own personal and professional life, another opportunity or what I call the "piece of the puzzle" of the multifaceted complexities that makes us human would come to my attention. At the same time, a course, or certification process would arise to address this part of our human life. Psychotherapy isn't a bunch of "techniques" to apply like you'd choose when looking for a computer software program. A person is a living being: body, mind, intellect, emotions, feelings and soul. Therapy is the exploration of these areas and the practice of having all the parts of the self working together.

• Texas, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, 63704

Counseling has been a love of mine that I have practiced for over thirty years. I have learned that life is a series of collected moments that we experience over time. Many moments are happy while others can be complicated, confusing and even difficult or painful. Over time, it can be normal for us to have difficulty managing some of the difficult times if they have not been resolved. We each have a life story or narrative comprised of these moments. How we cope with these moments depends on many factors such as our experiences with our parents, relatives, teachers, siblings, neighbors and others. Another factor is our own personality, our biological make up and cultural influences. All of these together help to form us into the person we are. Sometimes we discover that our earlier experiences and learnings do not equip us for the life that we are experiencing now. Each of us goes through phases of development from one phase of life to another. Every phase brings on new challenges that depends upon our ability to function in our earlier life phases. The way we have negotiated our previous life challenges carries us forward to help us learn how to meet our new ones. Any kind of life event that we experience as a crisis can make negotiating new challenges more difficult. The education I have received throughout my life along with my personal growth and experience have led me to work with wonderful people who have struggled with experiences that have led to depression and anxiety, self-esteem and identity confusion challenges, decision making, life skills, difficulty functioning in relationships and increasing intimacy, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, grief and complicated mourning from various losses of relationships, work, family, unfulfilled dreams and other unexpected life changes, family and marital conflict or distancing, parenting difficulties, social fears and phobias, coping with substance abuse in a family system and habits that appear to have so much influence over us that they feel like addictions. My education and background first as a pastoral counselor, followed by certifications in biofield therapy and energy medicine, clinical aromatherapy, yoga instructor, a mind-body approach called Degriefing, and as a Licensed Clinical Social worker have given me a menu from which to understand and offer various methods for clients to choose their way to wholeness and new life. I adapt to your narrative, look for your strengths, support you in using your strengths to move in a better life giving direction and will at times challenge you to discover the person within you that you have yet to meet. Throughout all of our dialogue and my intense seriousness to support you, I attempt to off a sense of light heartedness and humor when appropriate that will hopefully help you discover more joy in your life. I believe that if one can find a way to laugh, especially at oneself, that one is already partially free from whatever in the past has enslaved them. I look forward to joining with you on your pathway to new life. Mark