Welcome to The Four Pathways©
with Mar Howard, MFA, MSW, LCSW
Psychotherapy Through an Animism Lens
Land (Re)connection, Depth Psychology, Somatic Psychotherapy
for Women and Gender Queer Folks in
Colorado, Illinois, and Missouri
How We Work: The Four Pathways Approach
My Four Pathways© approach is the alchemical result of many years of incubation within a container of professional training, practice, work, and study that has included the fields of Somatic Experiencing, Depth Somatics, trauma studies, the Polyvagal Theory, Ecopsychology, body positivity and Intuitive Eating, EMDR, Flash Technique, CBT, Play Therapy, work in imaginal, mythological, and ancestral healing with people like Sharon Blackie, Daniel Foor, and Toko Pa Turner, as well as many years of study with Indigenous healers and my own land reconnection work. With the Four Pathways approach, we are within and at the intersections of the Land, the Body, the Unconscious Mind, and the Conscious Mind, all within the context of society, culture, and environment. All within a trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive frame.
Welcome and bon voyage.
Why Colorado, Illinois, and Missouri?
I am licensed in these three states because I have deep connections with them. I have lived many years in both Illinois and Missouri, and have ancestry there. I travel frequently to Colorado, where I have relatives, and am getting to know the land there over the years of these visits.
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The Land
“Embodiment,” “decolonizing the psyche,” and “decolonizing trauma work” are all inextricably interconnected with our relationship with the land. Furthermore, we are in continual relationship with the land, whether we know it or not, consciously, and the land is, in a sense, our extended nervous system. By “Land” we me all that there is on Earth: The soil, air, water, fire, ancestral connection, microbial organisms, mycelial networks, plants, animals, birds — all of our other-than-human kin. |
The Body
Our bodies hold and process our feelings and emotions. Our “emotions” are, according to somatic psychotherapy, not thoughts in our head but rather experiences of sensations that arise in our bodies. In Polyvagal Theory, which our somatic practices are based upon, those sensations are known to be governed by the Autonomic Nervous System. In somatic psychotherapy, we learn to work with the body to increase resilience and regulation, decrease self-gaslighting and pathologizing of our emotions, tap into our internal wisdom and learn how to trust ourselves, and heal the mind/body split that's so prevalent in many cultures and societies. |
The Unconscious Mind
Most of us are very familiar with our conscious minds. We recognize that we have thoughts, ideas, overt and operational memories, are able to plan and process information intentionally. Fewer of us, in this culture at this point in history, are aware that we also have an unconscious mind. That is, aspects of ourselves that are engaged in our lives but operating below the surface of awareness. Furthermore, there is a Collective and an Individual Unconscious, and much of the work we do is about coming into knowing and caring relationship with both of those. This happens through connecting with and listening to the land, the body, dreams, and work with symbol and ritual (both languages of the unconscious). As we grow this capacity, we also grow access to our own, internal wisdom. Connecting to our internal wisdom may be one of the most important aspects of psychotherapy and healing. It exists outside of external belief systems, and brings us freedom from depending on those belief systems or the opinions of others. |
The Conscious Mind
We also work with the conscious mind -- i.e,. thoughts, observations, and sensory perceptions that we are aware we are having. We work toward decreasing "negative self-talk," finding rest from self-criticism, understanding -- on an intellectual level -- our world and ourselves and how it all functions together to make the whole. |
Culture, Society, & Material Conditions
All of this, of course, exists within the larger context of culture, society, and material conditions. We are all affected by white supremacy, misogyny, colonizer mindsets, climate change, political trends, abusive relationships and family systems, overwork, under rest, and other challenges and oppressive systems that humans have created. We always recognize that we live within systems.. How do we find joy and awe and connection and rest and meaning, anyway?
This is what we explore. All the while, moving toward healing.
To request an appointment for an initial consult, click here:
https://margaret-howard.clientsecure.me/
All of this, of course, exists within the larger context of culture, society, and material conditions. We are all affected by white supremacy, misogyny, colonizer mindsets, climate change, political trends, abusive relationships and family systems, overwork, under rest, and other challenges and oppressive systems that humans have created. We always recognize that we live within systems.. How do we find joy and awe and connection and rest and meaning, anyway?
This is what we explore. All the while, moving toward healing.
To request an appointment for an initial consult, click here:
https://margaret-howard.clientsecure.me/
Learn more about the modalities we use here.
Image Copyright (c) Pearl, 2016