January 2, 2019

Meet Jori Adler of Flow House in Venice

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jori Adler.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I always envied people who had a passion, who knew what path they wanted to pursue. Instead, I defaulted into my first career in the entertainment industry, pretty clueless about who I was or what was important to me.

What I did know was how to fit in, how to succeed, and how to adhere to social norms and expectations. Thirty years of living like that and I began to itch for a deeper relationship with myself.

I left HBO, where I had been a television producer for many years, and pursued my Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology. Why counseling? Because around this time I was seated next to a developmentally delayed woman traveling alone on an airplane, who asked me to hold her hand and read to her from National Geographic.

It was a tiny gesture, a small moment of connection. I’m sure she doesn’t remember, but for me it was so deeply nourishing to be there with another person in a time of vulnerability. Cutting through superficial layers, authentic connection, presence .. these are some of the things that drew me to therapy.

Ten years later, I was back in Los Angeles, having built two successful private therapy practices, both here and in the Bay Area. In my own explorations – personal/professional, psychological/spiritual – I had become frustrated with the limitations of talk therapy alone.

Becoming aware of and finding the words to articulate our personal and relational dynamics is hugely important. However, I found that having that awareness wasn’t always enough to *change* them. How maddening – to gain insight and understanding into WHY we do the things we do and then to continue DOING them!

When I began studying and incorporating different modalities into my work – specifically somatic therapy, meditation, EMDR – I saw huge shifts in myself and in my clients.

In 2018, I opened Flow House, a Center for Holistic Psychotherapy in Venice, CA. At Flow, we’ve assembled an amazing, curated group of therapists who work in these integrated ways to help clients achieve effective, holistic, and cutting-edge treatment so that they can see tangible growth and lasting change in their lives.

We’re interested in treating the whole person – spirit, body & mind – in a beautiful and intuitively-designed house in a quiet, residential area.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’m overly self-reliant and resist relying on others. I’m attracted to unavailable partners and have a hard time letting go of past relationships. So, there ya have it!

Please tell us about Flow House.
At Flow, we’re all traditionally trained and licensed as psychotherapists, so you can expect that deep level of empathy, safety, and feeling known. But, we’re not the kind of therapists who just nod our heads and let you ramble on. Yes, we’re interested in the weekly dramas that arise, but we’re always keeping the broader themes in mind and looking for ways to deepen your experience.

That could be with techniques that open and access your subconscious, your body, your connection with nature, with something larger than yourself. We’ll help build your self-confidence and remove the obstacles you have to your own intuition.

There’s a way in therapy that we can wind up intellectualizing our feelings. Because emotions are scary to feel and we don’t really know what do with them! The therapists at Flow have concrete tools to help you build tolerance for your feelings so that you don’t have to work so hard to avoid them.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I spent the summers with my large bohemian family in East Hampton, NY. My aunts & uncles were only around 12 years older than me, so when I was eight, they were home from college. The boys lived in the attic, and we all loved hanging out together up there.

It was all very adult & cool, very sensuous — records blasting, pot smoking and Playboy magazines strewn about. My Uncle Nikko was an artist, and he would paint live nude models.

I would bring my typewriter and produce a weekly newspaper reporting on all the events of the week. Might not have been the typical childhood, but you know how it sometimes turns out when you’re raised in a liberal environment, surrounded by loose attitudes around sex and drugs… I ended up pretty straight and not really being interested in that stuff!

Pricing:

$150 – 250/session

Contact Info:

Address: 3846 Lyceum Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90066
Website: www.FlowHouseTherapy.com
Phone: 323 763 8680
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/flowhousetherapy/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flowhousetherapy/
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/flow-house-therapy-los-angeles
Other: www.joriadler.com

Image Credit:
Kellen Houde, Michele Magdalena Maddox

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