Erich Henninger
I am a father, partner, son, brother, friend, foodie, outdoor enthusiast, snowboarder, DJ, and human being. I have lived a life filled with joy and pain, engaging all aspects that have granted me real-world wisdom. My lived experiences and social positioning have offered me complexity, privilege, a passion for following my dreams, making peace with my shadow, and helping others with an open heart.
I received my Master's degree in Counseling Psychology from a Seattle-based psychoanalytical school named The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology.
My relational style invites active and genuine engagement, leading to a trusting therapeutic alliance. Authentic transformation and change have often occurred in my life when authenticity and courage to lean in together come to life. Isolation is the killer.
A “Being With” Intent
A “being with” intent builds the therapeutic frame that encourages us to collaboratively work, explore and play. The terrain can be serene, rugged, and challenging but the intent remains consistently collaborative. A “being with” intent encourages a “we” as an alternative to an “I”, forming a moving pathway necessary to guide us through the terrain. The path’s cairns listed below invite us to meet each other by eye, ear, mind, heart & soul.
Co-creation
Fostering mutual self-agency allows the client to engage full-heartedly. We co-create vibrant outcomes towards the path of sustained growth. Often, when we emotionally meet one another, a space outside of both therapist and client is co-created. That space is where healing and growth flourish.
Authenticity
Leaning in with a whole heart and an authentic self, ready to do the work, inspires mutual engagement, support, playfulness, or directness. As a therapist, I bring authenticity to therapy, and the expectation is my client explores the invitation to lean in comfortably.
Underneath Awareness
The content of therapeutic dialogue often touches the surface towards more profound meaning and awareness underneath the surface of language. I encourage my client to engage both in what is being said and what is being left unspoken. I actively use my own experience, intuition, and initiative to help keep therapy moving on a pathway toward a known outcome, but sometimes the unspoken clues take time to discover. The belief is that the therapist and client will uncover what lies underneath the surface. Individual problems connect to known and unknown patterns that integrate with one’s self, culture, story & relationships.
Somatic Awareness
Our bodies hold so many stories of our lives. Unfortunately, we tend not to listen to them. Emotional affect, trauma, and hidden stories lie deep in our tissues. I strongly encourage mutual engagement of listening to our bodies telling us stories and how our bodies connect to our felt emotions. Somatic awareness regarding what is helpful in healing trauma, relationship wounds, and long-standing mental health issues.
Engagement
Therapy sessions tend to feel “alive” to the both client and the therapist when we actively engage with what is most meaningful and relevant for the client in the here and now. The offer to come to therapy to work, play and be present will be extended before every session. Humor, challenging dialogues, spontaneous engagement, powerful emotions, meaningful experiences, creativity, and reflection can all be supportive and help encourage dynamic outcomes.
Safety
Relational intent cultivates feelings of trust and safety, maintaining clear, flexible, and appropriate therapeutic boundaries for our work together. Safety and trust take time to build. Reliance on the therapeutic intent is vital for the therapist to nurture a safe container to contain the mutual effort to reach therapeutic outcomes.
A Mindbrook desires to flow, at times it can become stuck, but with help, stepping out of the shadow of isolation, the movement continues and growth is achieved.
