THERAPY

​

I provide individual, couples, and family therapy. My areas of specialty include anxiety, depression, relationship/intimacy concerns, trauma, and conflict within families.

 

I have noticed that most of the people who come to se me are stuck in patterns where they find themselves repeatedly experiencing an unwanted emotional reaction/symptom, a particular interpersonal dynamic, or doing a behavior they wish they could stop. Generally, by time a person comes to therapy, “simple” solutions have already been tried and have not worked. Thus, I begin therapy by taking time to fully understand you and the situation; oftentimes, this process is not only evaluative, but helpful as you might realize something new about yourself or come to see yourself and your situations with increased compassion and curiosity. Once we have developed a shared understanding of what you are struggling with and why, we will discuss how therapy can help create change (and if therapy is not best suited to address the issues, I will help you find alternative solutions). This process looks different for every person, and I strive to continually check that therapeutic interventions are helpful, and that we adapt our therapy to what will work best for you. Thus, we will continually check on how therapy is feeling, whether it appears to be helping, and any ways that we can improve the therapy (including our therapeutic relationship).

​

Generally, I tend to be direct and open as a therapist. I believe that for therapy to be effective, it needs to be lively and collaborative. Thus, in therapy, I want to make sure that we are doing something together. Therapy should never cause you additional pain; however, it can often "stir up" pain that you already carry, especially if we're focusing on the things that matter most. You may not leave every session feeling better; however, my goal is that by the end of our work together you feel lighter, happier, and more able to be your full self. Thus, I often think of therapy as similar to working out at the gym: both can initially lead to feeling a bit sore and tired, but overtime should leave you feeling stronger, confident, and empowered.

​

I do not believe any psychological or therapeutic theory/approach holds all the answers. However, I love many theories and find them helpful in structuring interventions and creating a concise understanding of what might be underlying a specific client’s problems. As a therapist, I am trained and utilize psychodynamic, cognitive, and behavioral approaches. These include Internal Family Systems, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Exposure Therapy, Family Systems, and Attachment Theory. The extent to which any of the above theories and methods is used depends entirely on the specific case. If therapy does not seem to be working, I will often explore with my clients the utility of looking at things from another perspective and trying a different kind of intervention.

​

Couples’ therapy: Difficultly with trust and conflict resolution often drive couples to therapy. This can include challenges creating intimacy in the relationship. With couples, I find it especially important to first clarify partners’ differing views on what is causing problems in the relationship. Oftentimes, these problems make themselves visible during therapy, which provides an opportunity for all of us to explore what is happening for each person, the intent of each partner, and misinterpretations that are occurring. While providing education on issues like communication and healthy relationships can sometimes be helpful, I generally find that the most effective therapies are ones

 

 

Therapy can take various amounts of time depending on the severity and complexity of the issues, as well as how long-standing or deep-seated they are. While I can try to provide an estimate of how long therapy may take, this is often difficult to determine from the outset of treatment, and estimates can change as greater understanding of the client is gained through the process of therapy.