what i do.
Psychotherapy with Individuals, Couples, and Adolescents (ages 12+)
Issues: Anxiety, Depression, Relationship issues, Life Transitions, Grief, Trauma
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT):
CBT helps the client become aware of core beliefs as well as the relationship between thoughts, feelings and behaviors. We all have an inner voice, which is often very critical and negative. It is often so loud that it is difficult to hear anything else. We tend to believe that this voice reflects reality. However, we can choose to believe a very different story about ourselves, which impacts the way we feel and the way we present ourselves to the world.
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR):
Mindfulness is the ability to notice our experience while remaining curious and open about what arises. Mindfulness cultivates a “beginner’s mind” so that we can live in the present with more intention and thoughtfulness. I use a variety of mindfulness approaches, which may include a somatic/sensory focus, visualization exercises, or focused breath work. This approach emphasizes the practice of curiosity and a gentle, non-judgmental attitude toward the self and others.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT):
DBT focuses on distress tolerance, emotional regulation, and interpersonal communication skills. It incorporates a concept called, “Wise Mind” in which the client is assisted in finding a balance between the rational/decision making mind and the emotional mind. DBT draws from both CBT and Mindfulness practices. This approach emphasizes the concept of “Radical Acceptance,” or cultivating tolerance for feelings we deem uncomfortable or unpleasant. As human beings, we are very skilled at either “grasping” or going toward what feels good and “rejecting” or avoiding and escaping what feels bad. It takes a great deal of practice to slow down and wait for the tide to even out.
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy:
I practice EMDR therapy with an attachment focus. EMDR is a therapeutic approach that is used to process trauma and adverse life experiences. EMDR utilizes eye movement or another form of bilateral stimulation to help desensitize and more adaptively process the trauma or adverse life experience. Such experiences feel “stuck” or “charged,” which is what we experience when we say that we are “triggered” by something that happens. This approach also utilizes many mindfulness practices to help resource the individual for the reprocessing phase. When practicing EMDR with an attachment focus, the clinician is helping us get to the root of our negative beliefs about ourselves, which can usually be found in memories and experiences in earlier developmental stages of our lives. EMDR is research-based and an effective approach to helping most clients move through suffering and feel better more quickly.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an approach to therapy that assists the client in accessing their core self as well as identify the sub-personalities or parts of their psyche/mental system. Each person’s internal system consists of both protective parts and wounded parts. Healing occurs when the client is able to learn about their parts and relate to them in a compassionate and curious way. Only after understanding and appreciating the role that each part plays in the system to protect from pain can those parts relax enough to allow the healing of the wounded parts or exiles. In this way, balance and harmony can be restored to the mental system. IFS and an EMDR approach to therapy can also be used in tandem for an effective way of treating many mental health issues including, but not limited to, anxiety, depression, trauma, phobias, problematic relationship patterns, and obsessive compulsive tendencies.
To learn more: https://ifs-institute.com
