What has society told us about who and what we are? What are we "supposed" to be in order to belong in our interactions with one another and the larger culture? The roles we assume and their impact to our overall health may need examining.  Do the boxes we've been placed in (one example: concepts of binary gender roles) serve our highest well-being?

Our inherent wiring can look like personality traits, temperament, diagnoses we carry, inclinations, and our view of self. How have our innate characteristics shaped us and how do they interact with and guide us through world? What narratives are contributing to your well-being and which narratives need to be evaluated for the best quality of life?

The family (which takes many different forms) we grew up in gives us our primary learning experiences- joyful, painful, and everything in between. Formative messages about who we are and our place in the world can first be imprinted in us through our family of origin. Looking at our history helps us to understand the present.

Theology is, “the study of the nature of God and religious belief.” The ideas that we inherited and hold about who and what God/the Divine is have tremendous capacity to shape our worldview, our picture of those around us, and our understanding of the core of who we are. Religious institutions can be a place to facilitate our beliefs- at their best, they are a place of belonging and hope. At worst, organized systems of faith can be a place where people experience harm and trauma. Questions, dismantling, or stepping away from a belief system can be an incredibly painful process but is a current reality for many. Creating a space of non-judgment for faith deconstruction and shifting theological beliefs is my most cherished work.