Curiosity, Receptivity, Presence
Christina de Cossio
​NARM THERAPY
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, LMFT
Neuro Affective Relational Model
NARM has changed my life and how I approach counseling.
I experience NARM as a truly transformational practice of
fierce kindness and embodied living. - Christina de Cossio
I treat people from a non-judgmental and non-pathological point of view.
I guide people in establishing a deeper connection to the parts of themselves that are resilient, organized and functional.
I help people identify what's important to them in a kind, patient, and focused way.
We follow the thread of your heart's desire to guide us in working through what's troubling you...
and compassionately move towards who you really are and want to be.
I help teach you the skill of somatic mindfulness inquiry, so that we can hold the complexity of who and how you have learned yourselves to be...
Support Through Practicing NARM in Therapy
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First and foremost, I practice respecting people I work with as adults who are choosing to spend time, energy, and resources to change their self and life.
I know first hand that healing and changing isn't a small and casual endeavor. However, my professional and personal experience has established hope and trust that it's real and possible to feel better in our own skin, move with more freedom and energy,
heal through trauma, and relate better to our self and others.
Support using NARM means practicing skillful curiosity and non-judgmental presence in a process that supports increasing our innate capacity towards well-being.
How do we do that? Together we use a powerful tool for healing called somatic (body-mind) mindfulness. Learning somatic mindfulness increases self-awareness of the connections between the mind, emotions, and the body.
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Somatic mindfulness can help in resolving what's troubling a person by improving the capacity for self-regulation. Self-regulation in this context, very simply put, is our internal capacity to help our body, emotions, and mind recover and thrive in response to stress.
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Safety and Survival
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As human beings we are miraculously built for adaptation and survival both emotionally and physically; both psychologically and biologically. We are doing this all of the time, to some degree or another.
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Adapting to stress is the way we respond to external and internal signals of safety. When something is not okay for us, either emotionally or physically or both, then we instinctively respond to protect our self. Our brains and biology change to help us move towards whatever we deem most optimal for safety.
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Adapting + Surviving = Resilience + Strength
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CHANGING NORMAL
The great news is that we are built for adapting to relationships of all kinds, and to the environment for our entire lives.
Science has proven that our actual neurology, our biological brains, have the capacity to change no matter our age. The termed used in neuroscience is "neuroplasticity".
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What's "plasticity" about?
"Plasticity" is all about strengthening connections through learning and new experiences. Our brain's actually have the capacity to do this our entire life. Amazing!
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CONNECTION IS KEY
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The NARM therapy approach is fundamentally about connecting.
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What I Don't Do
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I don't try to get people to feel anything they don't want to feel, or insist they regress to a child state of memories and behavior to work through their issues, or infantilize people by acting like I know who they are or what they need. I don't agree to personally fix, save, or heal anybody. I'm also careful not to treat symptoms, but rather work with people who have symptoms.
My Point of View
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I help people from a non-judgmental and non-pathological point of view. This means that who you are is not going to be put in a box, or narrowed down to a personality type, or limited to a diagnosis. That's not how I value or treat people.
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Our Work Together
If you're seeking therapy then there's probably something you want for yourself, and perhaps to feel better in some way. Our work together begins by me asking you what you'd like to get out of the therapy process. It's totally okay if you don't know exactly what you want or need. I help people identify what's important to them in a kind, patient, and focused way. I explore with you, without pressure or expectations, what your heart desires for yourself.
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Once we have established what's important to you and what you want for yourself, then we follow the thread of your heart's desire to guide us in working through what's troubling you.
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Sometimes I provide educational information on theoretical perspectives about emotional human development, the effects of trauma, and body-brain (neuro) biology.
MY STORY ... What you're about to read is an abbreviated version of how I came to practice Clinical Somatic Psychotherapy. I feel passionate about healing in a whole person way, and wish that by sharing from my personal experience those who find my site may find hope for change. I don't go into details about trauma, mine personally or the scientific research behind it. Not here. Please visit the resource page if you're interested in learning more.