Minding the Body Psychotherapy

Often, we feel stuck in old patterns.

We struggle to feel satisfied in our relationships and stay true to ourselves.

Making the choice to come to psychotherapy gives you the opportunity to find your authentic self and feel fulfilled in your daily life.

About Claire

I provide a supportive and compassionate, therapeutic space where, together, we explore the patterns that keep you from living the life you desire.

Working with me you discover how you feel, sense, move, and think. As we attend to the relational and movement-oriented experiences that unfold in the therapy session, you become aware of yourself and the ways you are living your history in the present moment. These awarenesses allow you to see how you are contributing to your experience and get in touch with your true inner knowing — and give you permission to make new choices that are more aligned with the way you want to live your life.

I am a licensed certified social worker with over 22 years of experience working with individuals, couples and groups. In my training, I have studied, psychodynamic psychotherapy, Gestalt therapy, and Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy®.

I work with adults, couples and groups. Many of my clients are struggling with anxiety and depression, managing life transitions, experiencing relationship issues, sexual abuse, trauma and parenting challenges. I run mother support groups, and parent/baby nonverbal communication groups. I have conducted workshops and talks teaching therapists how to embody awareness in their therapy practice. I have also presented workshops on the therapeutic use of activity in groupwork, and peer-driven supervision groups for social workers.

In 2022 I became a certified teacher in Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy®.

Claire Kaplan, LCSW

Practice Approaches

In order to tailor the therapy to the individual, I draw upon several therapeutic modalities in my work with clients.

Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy®

Developmental Somatic Psychotherapy®, developed by Ruella Frank, Ph.D., is a relational and movement-oriented psychotherapy within a contemporary gestalt therapy framework, somaticstudies.com. This therapy is based on the understanding that in the first year of life we develop ways of interacting with others through movement patterns that are created between us and our primary caregiver. These movement interactions help to form patterns of behavior that help shape who we become. Each of us have a particular movement style that expresses itself in the way we relate to others. In this therapy, you will explore your movement style and understand how it works for or against you in a given situation so that you can make conscious choices and feel more satisfied in your relationships.

Gestalt Therapy

Gestalt Therapy is a creative, in the moment form of psychotherapy that addresses the whole person. We all cut off parts of our emotional selves that, early on in life, we believed to be unacceptable to our parents. Gestalt therapy helps you become aware of those parts and make conscious choices about your behavior while getting your needs met. Through awareness of your posture, movements, sensations and breathing in the therapy session, you will get in touch with your emotions in the moment and experiment with new patterns rather than only analyzing your past. If you tend to intellectualize your problems and stay in your head, this therapy will help you feel more connected to your body and your feelings.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic Therapy addresses maladaptive patterns of behavior that have resulted from early childhood conflicts and the way they impact you now. This therapy helps you understand these patterns and gain insight so that you can prevent them from reoccurring in your life today.

“The sun never quits shining. Sometimes, clouds just get in the way.”

— Unknown

Contact me

If you have questions or you would like to set up an initial consultation over the phone you can reach me at the email or number below, or by filling out the form.

I look forward to speaking with you.

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