My clients have typically spent a lot of time putting on a face, trying to hide the pain or distress that they have been feeling. They have felt misunderstood and perhaps even judged by others. I am here to give you an opportunity to share and work through your experience without judgment and without fear.
When you are with me you will be welcomed into a space that has been created to provide safety, comfort, and support. You will be deeply heard, respected, and accepted for exactly who you are right now and who you want to be in the future.
Therapy with me begins with creating a relationship where you feel safe and at ease. Depending on your perception of therapists, you may find that my style is relatively casual. I’ve never felt comfortable with therapists who weren’t “real” with me, who presented themselves as an authority who wanted to study me. I am a real person and that is who you will meet. You are a person, not a patient, and deserve to be treated as such.
Of course, not every therapist is right for every client. You may not feel that we are not a good match. Or it may become clear that you could benefit from working with someone else. It is my ethical duty to recognize these realities and I am always happy to provide a referral. Similarly, if I feel that our work is not being beneficial to you, or that I am not adequately trained in addressing your particular issues, then I am also obligated to provide a referral. Above all I am invested in your right to personal power and healing and that is my number one goal.
My Tools
Two methods form the bulk of my work, CBT and EMDR, though they are not exclusively all that I use. I am fundamentally a client-centered therapist. Mindfulness and the importance of listening to the body are key part of my approach. I believe strongly in the power of the therapeutic relationship to help each client discover their own meaning and healing. And I continuously collect other techniques from various disciplines that effectively augment the therapeutic process.
At the core of my toolbox is a strong foundation in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, or CBT. CBT is an evidence-based practice, meaning that it is a well-researched technique that scientific studies show can and does help people feel better when done well. CBT is powerful for looking at how our ways of thinking and behaving affect our feelings because they are all interrelated. But CBT alone is sometimes not enough.
Emotional feelings are also physical experiences, and sometimes a person can work really hard to change dysfunctional thinking only to find that the body is still holding on to that feeling. Another evidence-based practice, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing), is an effective tool for processing what still lives in the body as well as changing our neural networks when traditional CBT and talk therapy aren’t quite adequate. I have found it to be an invaluable addition to my skill set and am constantly amazed at the results I see with it.
For more information about virtual therapy check out What Is Tele-Therapy?
For a sample of my take on trauma click here.