D2Counseling

As we continue our series on Family Systems Theory Rev. Daniel Gowan shares an insightful memory regarding his own parenting.

As his son went to college Rev. Daniel Gowan wished he had another 18 years to be a better dad, this led his son to question “Well, how’d you screw me up?” 🧐

While there was no answer at that time it brings up an important topic regarding parenting and how one can best be there for their children.

Good intentions and real impact aren’t the same thing. Accountability as a parent means owning both. And looking at what happened to us as kids too 🩵

Group therapy is a phenomenal tool in counseling where one can dive into the topics of their life while feeling supported by those around them 🫶

🌱 Group therapy provides the opportunity to not only talk about what is happening in our lives but also gives us the chance to practice what comes up in session.

That’s why D2 Counseling offers so many different options and times for group therapy 🩵

We know the benefits and want to provide as many opportunities as we can for those who are interested in attending.

‼️ Give us a call at (972) 975 - 9100 or email us at [email protected] if you are curious about group therapy!

At D2 Counseling we understand the impact group therapy has on one’s healing journey. 🩵

That’s why we offer so many different options for people to attend!

✨ In group therapy you’re not just working on your own stuff, you’re seeing your patterns reflected back, getting real feedback, and realizing you’re not as alone as you might have initially thought. ✨

‼️ We are currently putting together a new group that Rev. Daniel Gowan will be hosting. If you or someone you love is curious about group therapy, contact us at [email protected] for more information 📨

Reverend Daniel Gowan shares about a workshop model taught to him by Pia Mellody known as The Family of Origin Workshop.

✨There are 3-parts in this workshop: ✨

🗣️ Debriefing: where we get the story straight on what happened

🫶 Integration: understanding the different parts of ourselves

🥹 Feelings reduction work: Gestalt based techniques like empty chair that help release what’s stuck

Talk therapy helps us understand our patterns. Experiential work helps us rewire them. 🧠

As Rev. Daniel Gowan points out these workshops can be worth a years worth of talk therapy sessions and can help truly access the lower case and uppercase trauma we may be dealing with.

‼️Contact us about upcoming workshop dates at [email protected] or visit our website at
www.d2counseling.com for more information!

Rev. Daniel Gowan points out how experiential therapy is different from normal talk therapy 🗣️

Combined, the two can help clients create change in their hardwiring. Learning to reflect on what is coming up from the unconscious (lower) part of the brain that might’ve been missed in normal talk therapy ✨

Workshops like the Family of Origin Intensive are great ways to start one’s experiential journey in counseling 🩵

Rev. Daniel Gowan highlights how the brain is structured, showing us the differences between upper and lower 🧠

Our upper brain is where our logic sits, used for reasoning and humor 🤣, our conscious traits.

Our lower brain is often referred to as our “reptilian brain” 🐊 where we live in our unconscious, the flight fight freeze response.

While talk therapy works for our upper brain, it can’t quite get to our lower brain.

This is where experiential therapy comes into play, it is how we change in our unconscious mind. 🩵

Today Rev. Daniel Gowan continues our discussion on the importance of early childhood memories, even the ones we can’t consciously recall. 🧠

Although we may not remember being 0-5, Rev. Daniel Gowan points out that our bodies have held onto our experiences. One example being a 2-year-old learning not to touch a hot stove, showing that our minds hold memories at that age, just in a different way. 🫶

Just because we can’t recall these memories, doesn’t mean they haven’t impacted who we’ve become.

Therapy is the tool we can use to investigate these impacts and determine what might have been missed when it comes to having our buckets filled. 🪣✨

Rev. Daniel Gowan breaks down something most of us have said at some point, “I don’t remember it so it didn’t affect me.” 👀

Parents tend to believe this too which is why many fight in front of their kids, assuming they are too young to remember.

Rev. Daniel Gowan mentions that before age 6, our brains haven’t built the “filing cabinet” yet to turn our experience into stories that we can consciously recall.

The impact is still there. It just becomes harder to determine what caused it.

Sometimes healing means becoming a detective in your own life and therapy can be used as the magnifying glass 🔎 .