“Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”
- Helen Keller
Calm your mind, soothe your soul and strengthen your relationships with quality, personalized counseling.
I’m Sharon Blackledge, one of only a handful of certified Emotionally Focused therapists in the state of Ohio. For more than 22 years I have provided services to individuals, couples and families in various settings, including hospitals, schools, outpatient offices, hospice and private practice. My extensive and varied experience has allowed me to build a high level of empathy and clinical competence, which enables me to support individuals from diverse backgrounds in their efforts toward personal growth.
My overall approach is deeply rooted in attachment theory, developed by British psychiatrist John Bowlby, who proposed a number of ideas that highlight the importance of relationships from infancy to adulthood. Attachment relationships are those you turn to for security and significance, which enable us to better understand ourselves and to safely explore our worlds. Our relationships may change over time, but the importance of our attachment relationships is a constant throughout the life span.
Working with you.
Whether working with you as an individual, a couple, or a family, I strive to provide an atmosphere of safety and trust to enable you to be open and ready to do your best work. I tune into what is most important to you, and I meet you there. We work together in identifying patterns or cycles where you may be getting stuck. We address the needs these patterns are likely serving and then we identify more effective ways to get these needs met. This approach can help you increase security, closeness, and connection in your most significant relationships.
Starting something new and doing something different is never easy and likely leaves you with mixed feelings. Helping you feel safe is my most important ongoing goal. We’ll work together to find a pace that safely guides you to your leading edge of growth.
Though we each are our own unique individual, there are some attachment-related generalities which apply to most of us:
We seek connection with others
We are saddened by loss and try to avoid it
We dislike rejection and try to avoid it
We like recognition and attention and crave acceptance
We do more to avoid pain than we do to seek pleasure
We care about what others think of us (particularly attachment figures)
We seek a degree of control over our lives
We question if we’re enough, and/or worry we’re too much