In my experience, few individuals come to therapy feeling that “typical” treatment categories adequately capture their difficulties, hopes, and fears. 

Instead, the individuals I work with sometimes describe feeling preoccupied by aspects of important relationships, blocked in their ability to express themselves authentically, or lacking self-confidence. Initially, some may even have trouble finding the right words to describe the changes they'd like to make. Finding these words—the right words—to describe what’s wrong and what relief would look like is a central part of treatment.

Of course, coming to an understanding of what’s wrong is only part of the process. Another central component of treatment is working together to change problematic patterns and develop new, adaptive ways to live. Increasing self-awareness creates the conditions that can enable individuals to make changes that help them feel better, more authentic, and more effective in their lives.

Throughout treatment sessions, I do my best to facilitate a collaborative learning process, which helps individuals to discover their own truths and make good use of them.

Therapeutic Philosophy

My approach to psychotherapy is integrative. While I have a solid grounding in psychodynamic psychotherapy, I integrate a variety of techniques—including those from cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based approaches—to best meet each individual’s needs. Additionally, I draw from my clinical experience, academic training, and familiarity with psychotherapy research literature when approaching each treatment. There is no one-size-fits-all approach.

Psychodynamic perspective

Psychodynamic approaches to treatment seek to embrace the complexity of human experience, acknowledging that our experience and actions are shaped by multiple (and conflicting) factors, both conscious and unconscious. Rather than asking the individual to adjust to the therapist’s preferred approach, the therapist and individual work together to develop a shared perspective on the purpose of therapy and the tasks of treatment. Successful treatment should not only relieve symptoms (i.e., get rid of something troubling) but also increase psychological resilience going forward.

COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL PSYCHOTHERAPY

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a time-limited, problem-focused psychotherapy that has been proven effective for a wide array of disorders. Confronting the sources of anxiety in a safe environment (which is often called exposure-based treatment) is at the heart of most contemporary CBT approaches, especially for anxiety disorders. Individuals learn new methods to cope with the sources of their fears and practice these methods both in and outside of therapy.

MINDFULNESS

One popular definition of “mindfulness” describes it as an attitude of accepting and non-judgmental awareness of the present moment. Similar to psychodynamic approaches, the goal of mindfulness-based treatment is to help individuals lead more meaningful lives consistent with their deeply-held values.

Expertise