I found the name Stillpoint as I wandered through the quiet shopping district of Venice, Florida. I had driven from Indianapolis with my 16-year-old daughter to Venice somehow thinking that she might enjoy being with me for a fun spring break adventure.
In actuality, as she sat quietly reading a Steven King novel on Golden Beach, I wandered the Venice shopping district alone.
Looking back, it was no wonder that she didn’t want to be hanging out with me. I was spinning in sorrow, searching for solace, and finding no consolation. And, of course, she was 16. So now, looking back, I think it was a good sign that she was in her developmental right mind. Spring Break; Florida; Reading on the beach: Good choice.
As I continued the search for my right mind, somehow thinking it might be lost in the shopping district, I wandered past an art studio named Stillpoint.
I stopped. I knew I had found something. I took a picture of the sign wanting to remember that moment when I found the name for what I was looking for. Not a studio for art, or even a place for therapy, but the space for healing within.
The Stillpoint, to me, is the acceptance of life as it is. It is a wordless container that holds sorrow in stillness while giving time for the mind to heal and the body to catch up to the reality of the present moment
“And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered.
Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline.
Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance,
And there is only the dance.”
- T.S. Eliot
Several years later, Abbey Parker and I made the bold decision to join together and to return to the original space where I had first begun my psychotherapy practice in 1988.
This time, we named that space Stillpoint.
Along with Abbey Parker, Jenna Corcoran and Josh Stanley, we want you to know that we have been on the journey for healing. We are trained and committed therapists who believe that there is a way forward through trauma, relationship disappointments, sorrow, anxiety, and unknowing.
We welcome you to the Stillpoint where healing and wholeness are possible.
About Elizabeth M. Johnson, LCSW, LMFT
Therapist and Clinical Director
Beth has been practicing individual, relationship and family therapies in the Indianapolis and Greenwood communities for more than 30 years. She completed her studies through Indiana University, including 13 years of supervision specializing in Marriage and Family Therapy.
Beth also is an artist and writer and has a passion for creating art and offering creative opportunities for women.
