The Willow Method: Healing Through Flexibility

ART THERAPY
Written By Mandy Proskovec, LMSW
The Willow Method: Healing Through Flexibility

Healing is often misunderstood as a kind of bracing. Many people believe they need to toughen up, tighten their grip, or push harder. Yet the research on resilience paints a much gentler picture. Systems that stay flexible tend to recover more completely. Rigid systems fracture under pressure, while flexible ones adapt and repair (Bonanno, 2004).

The Willow Method is grounded in this truth. A willow tree survives storms because it bends. Its movement is not a sign of weakness. It is the source of its endurance. When we translate that into emotional life, healing becomes something that happens through flow rather than force.

Healing Through Flexibility

Emotional flexibility has been consistently linked with lower anxiety, improved emotional regulation, and greater capacity for relational stability. Studies on psychological flexibility show that people who can shift states instead of locking into one position experience better long term wellbeing (Kashdan and Rottenberg, 2010). In other words, movement protects us.

Within the Willow Method, flexibility becomes a relationship with yourself. You learn to pause long enough to notice what your body and mind are asking for. You learn when to soften and when to hold steady. You discover the difference between adaptation that protects your truth and adaptation that betrays it.

Many of us grew up believing that stillness meant safety. But the nervous system settles more easily when it can move through different emotional states. Healing begins when we stop demanding perfection from ourselves and start offering gentle permission instead.

The Willow Method teaches you how to stay rooted in your values, responsive to your needs, and connected to your inner voice. Flexibility becomes an act of self-loyalty. It is a way of saying that you deserve to grow without breaking.

If this approach speaks to you, I would love to sit with you and explore the Willow Method together.

References

Bonanno, G. A. (2004). Loss, trauma, and human resilience. American Psychologist, 59(1), 20 to 28.

Kashdan, T. B., & Rottenberg, J. (2010). Psychological flexibility as a fundamental aspect of health. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(7), 865 to 878.

contact us
Mandy Proskovec, LMSW
My background

I am a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW) in Texas, and my path into this work has been shaped as much by life experience as by formal training. I’ve worked in mental health for over a decade including private practice, supporting people through seasons of loss, trauma, and change. Along the way, I’ve trained in EMDR and DBT-informed skills. I am certified in Religious Trauma and love working with attachment/relational trauma and parts work. At the heart of my practice is a relational and psychodynamic approach. That means I pay attention not only to the skills and tools that help in the moment, but also to the deeper patterns and stories that shape how you experience yourself and your relationships. 

My view on counseling

I believe therapy is a place to slow down and truly feel seen. Many of us carry burdens from early relationships, faith communities, or past experiences that leave us feeling disconnected, unworthy, or “too much.” In counseling, we will work together to make sense of those patterns and create space for healing. My role is not to “fix” you, but to walk alongside you, offering steadiness, curiosity, and compassion as you reconnect with your values and discover new ways of being with yourself and others.

My specialties

  • Healing from trauma and PTSD, including attachment and religious trauma

  • Grief and anticipatory loss

  • Anxiety, depression, and shame

  • Parenting challenges and intergenerational patterns

  • Chronic stress, illness, and caregiver burnout

  • Life transitions, identity development, and meaning-making,

  • LGBTQIA+ affirming

  • Serving teens (13 and up) and Adults

Next

Moving Forward: Healing Is Possible