About
Dr. Bradshaw's approach to therapy focuses on creating a safe, respectful, and supportive environment where you feel truly seen, heard, and empowered. His goal is to help you become fully present with yourself and your world, potentially fostering personal growth and positive change. In this therapeutic space, you are given the time and supportive challenge needed to work and attempt to meet your goals, break free from past constraints, and live more authentically.
“The purpose of psychotherapy is to set people free. What I mean is to set people free from the bonds of their past, free from their own unconscious automatic reactions... so that they can be themselves.”
Rollo May, PhD
8 Themes of the Client Experience of Therapeutic Presence, per Dr. Bradshaw's research.
The "common factors" in psychotherapy, with "presence" at the hub. See the work of Bruce Wampold, PhD and Zac Imel on the common factors, and the work of Kirk Schneider, PhD and Shari Geller, PhD on the central role of presence.
Fully Human Psychology is a therapy practice rooted in existential, humanistic, and somatic, approaches to psychology and healing. These approaches are considered depth-oriented, experiential, and relational. This section of the website will attempt to explain a bit more about what this means.
The image to the left represents themes of the client experience of “therapeutic presence” Dr. Bradshaw found in his research. That is, while no therapy or therapist (or human!) is “perfect,” Dr. Bradshaw hopes that often in psychotherapy with him, you will experience these positives along with many others.
Dr. Bradshaw’s approach is flexible (within limits), focusing on meeting you where you live and move. In addition to his primary approaches, he may mindfully and thoughtfully employ various techniques from other approaches to help you reach your goals, including Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), Motivational Interviewing (MI), personality assessment. The website will be updated with more information on these modalities soon. Most therapists operate from this “integrative” approach in order to best meet the needs of diverse clients.
He prioritizes a strong therapeutic relationship. The “Common Factors” research in psychotherapy indicates that there are factors common to all forms of psychotherapy that likely explain more about why therapy works than the specific unique techniques of each approach to therapy. That is, while specific techniques are important, this sophisticated and abundant research shows that, at the end of the day, the common factors are most important.
Dr. Bradshaw is well studied, experientially trained, and is actively mentored in these common factors. Please see the second image to the left for a depiction of these common factors. Dr. Bradshaw has placed “presence” as central to these factors. Presence as central to the common factors is a theory proposed by Dr. Kirk Schneider, Dr. Shari Geller, and by Dr. Bradshaw. The common factors include: the therapeutic relationship, empathy, collaboration, creating meaning & hope, setting expectations, and repairing ruptures to the relationship. The last one means that if there is a tension, disagreement, or problem between therapist and client the therapist will work to help this issue be repaired in a way that actually helps the client heal.
Dr. Bradshaw will follow your lead and will work to assess if you need other services. He will transparently discuss with you if he assesses that you may want to engage with additional or other providers, such as an EMDR therapist, a psychiatrist, a primary care doctor, a massage therapist, and so on.
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Depth Therapy
Aims to explore the unconscious aspects of the mind that influence thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This approach can help you access repressed emotions and hidden strengths, fostering personal transformation. Here, working with dreams and fantasies may help the process.
"Depth" here also refers to the supreme importance of feeling deeply seen and heard in therapy. Dr. Bradshaw makes a big effort to really see and hear you on deep levels, and not to make assumptions or suggest solutions too quickly.
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Experiential Therapy
Emphasizes engaging with the immediate, affective, kinesthetic, and profound aspects of your experience. This approach often focuses on the “here and now,” exploring emotions, physical sensations, and your connection to what matters most in life as it shows up each moment. This can help you confront existential anxieties real-time, with your therapist, and cultivate a meaningful connection with yourself and the world. This approach can help you really feel your strengths, and give you a deep sense of release and peace—creating a more felt sense of change.
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Relational Therapy
Highlights the importance of the therapeutic relationship, and actually experiencing that relationship consciously as part of the therapy. The dynamics between you and your therapist are used as a tool for growth, helping you improve your relationships with yourself and others. The therapeutic relationship is about forging a strong emotional bond and agreeing on the goals and tasks of therapy.
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Existential-Integrative Psychotherapy (EI)
EI is an approach developed by one of Dr. Bradshaw’s primary teachers and mentors, Dr. Kirk Schneider, PhD. This approach coordinates other modalities within an overall existential and experiential framework. Essentially, Dr. Bradshaw might utilize aspects of CBT or MI, for example, to help a client gain a foothold on their journey, while gently guiding the therapy to remain open to deeper levels of change, when appropriate and safe, through the depth, experiential, and relational.
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Dr. Bradshaw’s approach is about helping you become fully present, tapping into the depth and complexity of your human experience, and supporting you on your journey to live a more centered, authentic and fulfilling life.
More about Dr. Bradshaw
Dr. Bradshaw grew up in Northern California, the son of two jazz nightclub owners. His father hailed from a small town in Mississippi and was of British ancestry. He played jazz trombone and taught himself to sail. His mother hailed from New York and of Italian ancestry. A drummer and advocate for social issues, she instilled in Dr. Bradshaw a love of service.
Dr. Bradshaw moved to Arizona in 2009 to work with children facing multiple stressors in a K-3 school in Phoenix. Shortly after arriving in Arizona. An elder counselor saw Dr. Bradshaw’s keen interest in psychological healing, and mentored him. Thus, he began his career as a counselor and worked in several mental health agencies with diverse individuals, rising to leadership positions.
He returned to school to earn his doctorate at the age of 40. Quite experienced in the field, he was able to dig deeply into his studies. He passionately pursues advanced experiential training with the Existential-Humanistic Institute (EHI) and Somatic Experiencing International (SEI). He assists with teaching at EHI.
He enjoys meditation, yoga, creative arts, reading, writing, teaching, comedy, engaging his own depth and experiential therapy, and spending time in nature and with family and friends. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.
“The chief benefit of existential-integrative psychotherapy is the opportunity it provides for clients to deepen their awareness and expand their capacity to live more fully and authentically.”
Kirk Schneider, PhD