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Busy professionals who seek to shift recurring, self-defeating patterns of behavior but have little time for traditional, long-term talk therapy now have an opportunity to achieve rapid progress utilizing a breakthrough model developed by Soapstone Integrative Health Associates.
The Soapstone model, known as "Psychotherapy-Plus," integrates three healing modalities into a seamless whole: psychotherapy, energy psychology, and body-based energetic release therapy. The combined approach helps clients release patterns of behavior that obstruct their innate potential and keep them from achieving personal and professional goals.
The approach has been shown to offer significant time- and cost-savings to the client, as it accelerates the healing process dramatically. The laser-like focus on the root of the problem also sets the practice apart.
Soapstone brings together three forward-thinking practitioners in the field of psychology and energy-based holistic health and healing. The group's vision grew out of a desire to create the shortest possible route for success for clients who otherwise may spend years in traditional talk therapy without experiencing desired changes in their lives.
"More and more people are realizing that talk therapy alone is not enough. To help them release the deep-seated issues so that they are no longer part of their system, so that they can really move forward, you have to take a mind-body approach – an energetic approach," said Mimi Ratner, a founding partner at Soapstone.
Ratner is a psychotherapist, licensed clinical social worker and intuitive counselor who has been in practice for 27 years at Washington Hospital Center and at the Washington Cancer Institute.
In addition to Ratner, the group includes Mark Sullivan, MSW (energy psychology/Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT) and Izabella Tabarovsky, MA (body-based energetic release/Healing Touch/clinical aromatherapy).
The group joined efforts in private practice after having collaborated at the Washington Hospital Center. The three realized that there were multiple synergies among their respective areas of expertise and that working in concert held significant transformative potential for the clients.
"Although there are many practitioners who use these modalities individually, we are unique in integrating them into one. This produces powerful results for our clients," said Sullivan. "Getting to thoughts and feeling at deep energetic levels eliminates unwanted patterns with an effectiveness we've never seen before."
The group gears its practice toward those who are ready to open up to new possibilities for transformation in their personal and professional lives. Typical issues include physical and emotional trauma, relationship concerns, chronic pain and medical issues, and blocks to creativity.
"After a long period of refining the model, we are thrilled to be offering it on a larger scale," said Ratner. "We have found that the effect of each modality is potentiated when applied in a single intensive session, and that's what we are offering to our clients."
New clients typically begin with a half-day intensive – a 3.5-hour session, in which the client meets, in turn, with each of the three partners.
The visit starts with Ratner, who identifies and brings to the surface the root causes of the client's ongoing issue. The client then continues with Sullivan, who applies Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to help get deeper to the energetic roots of the problem and begin releasing them.
EFT has gained acceptance in recent years as a sophisticated yet easy-to-use tool that relies on a series of gentle tapping techniques to stimulate Chinese acupuncture points. When used in combination with a psychology-based approach, it has been shown to help access and release deep-seated problems ranging from interpersonal conflicts, relationship concerns, financial stress, and public speaking anxiety, to post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and pain management.
The day concludes with an energy rebalancing session with Tabarovsky, aimed at deepening and integrating the insights gained throughout the day. The session is grounded in an approach known as Healing Touch, which is gaining acceptance among medical professionals as a way to complement standard medical care. The session facilitates a deep sense of calm and relaxation, which creates an optimal environment for the body's innate tendency to heal.
Clients typically experience a profound shift in their emotional and behavioral patterns as a result of the intensive. Many report an improved in levels of pain. Most report leaving the office lighter, unburdened, and with a renewed sense of possibility.