suzanne mcdonald, she/her

Hello, Glad you found me It took me many years to recognize and accept that life is meant to be BOTH ups and downs, joy and sorrow, never supposed to be residing in only one place, each having value. I love the words of Kahil Gibran “Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears….And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?” These words soothe my soul. I hope they do yours as well. I believe that we are living in a time when many, if not most people, are experiencing life as hard. We have all experienced many losses over these last years—losses in all areas of our lives. Loss doesn’t go away, and how long the assimilation takes, depends on how deep the loss. Perhaps you’ll allow me to sit with you as you begin to live inside that loss. In the words of the incredible poet Andrea Gibson; "Sometimes the most healing thing we can do is remind ourselves—other people feel this too." Humaning can be very tricky…understanding ourselves and why we do things is at the core of healing and has the deepest roots. Unearthing those roots and tending to them affects not only ourselves, but everyone we come in contact with. Humans are complex— get two humans together who haven’t tended to their deeper layers, what Internal Family Systems calls their parts, and things will be done/said that afterwards we have no idea why This makes relationships that much more challenging. Sounds like a lot, and it is, but really the process can be exciting! …..hard but exciting. Recognizing those patterns is why I love working with the dynamics of relating…the co-dependency, the walls, the lack of boundaries, the people-pleasing—once seen, named and tended, these parts of us, start to heal and interactions start to shift. Glennon Doyle states when speaking about family and the character roles we take on to survive; “The good news is that every role has a particular hero’s journey, and if we embark upon it, we learn to break character, become fully human, and begin to bring our full self to our relationships, work, and world.” And in the words of Brené Brown; "Choosing authenticity means letting go of who we think we are supposed to be and embracing who we are......Loving ourselves through the process of owning our story is the bravest thing we'll ever do." Empowering highly sensitive and neurodivergent people through life’s transitions in a world that wasn’t set up for us, is at the heart of the work I do. I create/hold space for those who feel more deeply, sense more deeply, and are more highly connected to the Divine Creative Intelligence, or whatever name you use for that power that is greater than us all. I love this work! I love seeing people, humans from all walks and orientations of life, have “aha” moments, come alive and relate to the world in a whole new way. Starting therapy can be a very vulnerable experience, and as Prentis Hemphill says; "How we work is as important as the work we do." I invite you to schedule a free 20 minute call to see if we are a good match.. This is your time, your life, and I’d be honored to be your humble guide while you uncover more of Your Authentic Self.