Psychotherapist, Writer, Coach/Consultant
About Dr. Bradshaw
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.
It is hard to face our deepest struggles, dreads, shame, and it is hard to access our full hope and range of strengths alone. We sometimes need someone trained, ethically grounded, and who is actively working on themselves in their own search. I have a deep love and passion for being a support to others in this way.
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 is best discussed live, but I believe in providing information upfront for folks to read about on their own.
By “depth-oriented” I mean, in part, a couple things: 1.) I train and work hard to ensure you are deeply seen and heard, 2.) I believe that often there are forces, emotions, meanings driving our behavior and of which we are not always consciously aware. These unconscious (or disowned/disavowed) elements must be uncovered, welcomed, confronted, integrated so that we can access our full range of humanness.
By “experiential,” I refer to the fact that cognitions, analysis, and behaviors in psychotherapy are not all-important. I work with your immediate felt and sensed experience, in the “here and now.” We ultimately want you to experience your life differently—in a more meaningful and positive way. We don’t only want to help you think or act differently.
By “relational,” I mean in part that how you live, move, and experience, right here and now, in relationship to your therapist, yourself, others, and the world, is ultimately of very high importance. I may, thus, ask you how you feel you are doing in the moment with me in terms of your working relationship. Research consistently shows that our ability to form a strong emotional bond and to collaborate on the goals and the tasks of therapy is of paramount importance. In essence: our working relationship is a big part of the healing. Often we are hurt in relationship, and we heal in relationship, too.
I’m a licensed psychotherapist, writer, professional coach, and consultant with 16+ years of experience in demanding clinical and leadership roles. My approach is strengths-based, compassionate, and attuned to your goals —creating a trusted space for healing, clarity, and meaningful growth.
Presence & The Common Factors
8 Themes of the Client Experience of Therapeutic Presence, per Dr. Bradshaw's research.
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. In select cases for specific concerns (such as PTSD), he may utilize EMDR therapy.
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 below 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.
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.
The image below 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.
More About Dr. Bradshaw
Dr. Bradshaw holds a PhD in clinical psychology and is a licensed professional counselor (LPC) in Arizona. He is also pursuing licensure as a clinical psychologist in Arizona and will update the website once this license is obtained. He is grounded primarily in Existential-Humanistic (EH) and Somatic Experiencing (SE) therapies. He holds a certificate in, and assists with teaching, at the advanced level in EH, and is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner (SEP). He also utilizes experiential dream analysis, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), and Motivational Interviewing (MI) as needed to support individuals in meeting their goals and working toward a life filled with as much meaningfulness as possible. He has significant training in all the approaches he utilizes.
He served as the primary therapist for the Professionals Program at Sierra Tucson (ST), a world-renowned residential treatment center, and, for many years, he served as a leader and clinician in community mental health and addiction treatment clinics. Throughout his career, he has provided sensitive and empathic care for diverse individuals.
Passionate about learning and communicating in the field, Dr. Bradshaw writes for Psychology Today and has scholarly publications with the American Psychological Association (APA) and University Professors Press (UPP). He has further scholarly and creative publications at various stage of the publication process. Writing is his primary art form, and he resonates working in therapy with artists.
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 enjoys meditation, yoga, martial arts, dance, 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.
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The information provided on this website is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional psychological or medical advice. While therapy can be a helpful process for many individuals, and Dr. Bradshaw certainly has helped many individuals over the years reach their goals and enhance their lives (and has been helped considerably by his own work with therapists), there is no guarantee of specific outcomes, and results will vary from person to person.
The therapeutic process is deeply personal and depends on many factors, including the nature of the issues being addressed, the client's engagement in the process, and other external factors. As such, therapists cannot (and Dr. Bradshaw and Fully Human Psychology does not) promise or predict the speed at which progress or specific goals will be achieved. Each client's journey is unique, and therapy may take more or less time than anticipated.
Some individuals may notice decreases in negative symptoms quickly and yet find that other goals take longer than they anticipated and yet may find themselves enjoying working toward these longer-term goals. Others may notice that symptoms temporarily increase, and yet they feel more capable of working with them at the same time and safer working with them. The possibilities are many. This website represents some of the general aims, philosophy, research, theory, and potentialities of psychotherapy and of these approaches to therapy--but does not guarantee specific outcomes within specific timeframes. Dr. Bradshaw includes them here because part of success in therapy is generating and accessing our meaning and hope, and because he has seen many of these potentialities become a reality for himself and others through therapy and other means--especially when we can trust the process, work hard, practice self-compassion and patience, and challenge ourselves in a supportive environment.
Please consult directly with your therapist or a licensed mental health professional for advice tailored to your individual situation.
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