Bob Solomon approaches therapy from these central truths:
- Our natural state is one of mental health and well-being.
- Our experience of life is created by our internal thoughts rather than by our external circumstances.
We all have an inner wisdom that we can use as an internal compass to help us get back on track when we find we’ve gotten off course. If we don’t get in the way, this inner wisdom flows naturally and allows us to feel positive about life. It maintains and promotes our well-being. But patterns of thinking we have learned since childhood can block this inner wisdom. Over time, these patterns can become habitual, making it difficult for us to re-enter our natural state of mental health. When this happens, it is as if a cloud cover descends, coloring our experience of the world. We have a choice. By shifting our attention away from those negative thoughts, we can access our inner wisdom and allow the flow of positive thoughts and feelings to return.
“Dr. Solomon got me to think about my thought process—how I was letting my negative thoughts get the better of me and control my life. But they were just thoughts. As soon as I let them go—I was better.” —Diane
Instead of being victims of their circumstances, people are actually victims of their own thinking. This is not to say that when terrible events occur, we aren’t affected by them. That’s only natural. But even when people experience a traumatic event, they are the ones who have say over what they think and thus how they feel about that event. They can choose to allow their thoughts to take them to a place of darkness and depression, or they can look to their inner wisdom to provide guidance, strength, resilience and ultimately healing. This is the power of our intuitive mind, our internal guidance system.
Our Forgotten Intuitive Mind
Each of us has two ways of thinking—rationally and intuitively. While humans used to rely much more on their intuitive minds, our modern Western culture has overemphasized our rational, intellectual mind, almost forgetting that we have another mode of thinking. Operating from this rational, left-brained mode, we tend to over think our problems, not realizing that it is our thinking that has caused the problems in the first place.
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” —Albert Einstein
It is not that the rational mind is not important. It is essential. The problem is that we overuse it. The solution is to return to our natural state of leading our lives from our intuitive mind and drawing on the rational mind as needed rather than letting it dominate. Bob helps his clients reawaken their intuitive minds. Thinking intuitively reconnects us to our innate mental and physical well-being and helps us negotiate the challenges of life. It alleviates stress, anxiety, depression and other conditions that keep us from living full and happy lives.
Bob’s Approach to Therapy
Rather than focusing on what is “wrong” with his clients, Bob focuses on their innate well-being. Creating a safe space where people feel comfortable, Bob acts as a guide with a flashlight, illuminating those areas of his clients’ lives which he feels will help them gain critical insight and awareness. Bob partners with his clients as they gain understanding of how the disconnection from their natural state of well-being occurred. From there they can begin the journey back to health.
Bob believes that answers do not come from focusing on the past as is so often done in traditional mental health treatment. This approach can create too much dependence on the therapist and reinforce the idea that people need something outside of themselves to be OK. By focusing on the present, Bob empowers his clients, his ultimate goal being that they become their own therapists.
In addition to his medical studies, Bob has done extensive study of other healing methods and has seen for himself how some of these less traditional techniques can have a powerful impact on physical and emotional health. Bob believes strongly in the connection between body and mind and that our symptoms can offer opportunities for learning and growth.
With a new understanding of the role that their thinking plays in their emotional health, Bob’s clients gain empowering insights that enable them to transform their lives. As they re-establish healthy thinking, they tap into their own natural wellness. Paying attention to their own inner wisdom, they learn to use it to create harmony in their lives. This is truly healing from the inside out.