About Active Pursuit Therapy
Set Your Own Pace from the First Session
There are two large windows in my office, and both look out over the Boise River.
You get the reclining loveseat. There’s a weighted blanket and a soft pillow if you want them, tea or coffee in the waiting area, something to hold onto in your hands if that helps.
Sometimes an eagle crosses the water while you’re mid-sentence. We stop and watch it, and then you pick the sentence back up.
Just like in walking, we each have our own pace that’s comfortable. In here, yours is the one we keep, from the first session through the last.
Why the Same Relationship Keeps Finding You
You hold a low opinion of yourself that has never once been up for review. It got settled early, by people who weren’t in any position to settle it, and you’ve run on it since.
The people you get close to keep turning out to have the same shape. Different names, different years, the same arrangement, and you can usually point to the moment you saw it coming and stayed anyway.
What Comes Up First Is Older Than You Expect
In an EMDR session you’ll be quiet more than you expect to be. Something from a long time ago comes up on its own, and your attention moves back and forth across it while I stay out of your way.
The blanket ends up on your lap. Your hand finds the fidget on the table without you deciding to reach for it. All of that is allowed.
What surfaces is usually older than the thing you came in about. You’ll discover the parts of you that helped you survive the chaos, and where they learned to do it.
The work with those parts is Internal Family Systems, and we meet them with curiosity instead of criticism. What you went through starts to look different, and so does the person it happened to.
You’ll Go From “I Tried” to “I Did It”
Then comes the stretch people are least prepared for. Doing something differently while your body still votes for the old way.
It looks small from the outside. You go first in a conversation you would normally wait out.
A friend gets the unedited version of how you’re doing. Your name goes in for something before you feel ready for it.
The next session, you tell me about it, and the sentence you use changes. Your experience goes from “I tried” to “I actually did it!”
Your View of Yourself Shifts From Powerless to Powerful
Making decisions feels different. Less fear in it, and more of your own weight behind it.
There’s no satisfaction quite like being proud of your accomplishments when you worked so hard to get where you are.
You no longer settle in relationships, tolerating terrible treatment. You know your worth, and we celebrate that together, because your growth genuinely inspires me.
The dream you’ve been holding for your future stops being a fantasy. You become someone you didn’t know you could be.
Your Relationship Gets the Same Pace
Couples sit on that same loveseat, and the pace rule holds for both of you. Neither of you has to be further along than you are.
One of you feels unheard and like too much for the other person. The other feels like every attempt lands wrong, and both of those are true at once.
What each of you learned about love before you met is sitting in the conversation with you. We work on that directly.
Your Couples Work Can Include EMDR
Ordinarily the old material gets handed off to an individual therapist, and the couples work waits on it. Here it doesn’t have to leave the session.
I rarely hear of another clinician putting EMDR into joint sessions. What shifts when we do is how much history is still feeding the disagreement in front of you.
Before any of that, both of you have to want this relationship to survive. If you’re not both there yet, this isn’t the work to begin with.
About Candace Cooper, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor
Helping people has always excited me. I began speaking in front of groups when I was 15 years old.
I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in counseling and helped people in several different roles before completing my master’s 10 years later. For 7 years now, I’ve been a professional counselor.
The hard stuff is what I’m passionate about. I don’t shy away from it but welcome the raw and unfiltered.
What I’ve Watched EMDR Do
As a certified EMDR therapist, I’ve seen what feels like magical experiences. Individuals have breakthroughs and are not the same.
I’ve experienced EMDR myself and approach clients with gentleness and compassion. I offer a non-judgmental stance and am an LGBTQIA+ affirming therapist.
Why Your Relationship Matters This Much to Me
Healthy relationships are invaluable to me. I’m committed to couples rebuilding trust. Having trained in the Gottman Method, I support couples using those tools.
There’s nothing more rewarding to me than watching a woman reclaim her confidence after struggling with relationship issues. It is a sacred experience to watch couples rediscover their spark.
Where You’ll Find Me on a Saturday
When I am not with my clients, I am with my family. As often as I can, I get outside and into nature. I cycle, hike and swim.
I make time for regular massages and outings like concerts and comedy shows. I’m an avid reader, usually in the middle of 5 books at the same time. My clients will tell you that I usually recommend a book here and there.
As a counselor, I don’t only draw from my education, I use my personal experience to help me be the best therapist I can be.
Come Sit by the Window
The windows will still be here. So will the loveseat, and the blanket, and the eagle when it feels like showing up.
It starts with a free fifteen-minute consultation, phone or video, whichever is easier on you. You say what’s been going on, and I’ll tell you what working on it together would actually look like.
Call or text (208) 768-1454, or email activepursuittherapy@gmail.com. Sessions happen in the office on the Greenbelt or online.
Take the Next Step
Chances are you’ve been waiting a while to make this move.
The consultation is free, 15 minutes, by phone or video. We’ll get clear on what you want for this incredible life of yours and what it would take to have it, and you’ll come off that call with a straight answer about whether I’m the right person for the job.