Therapy Services
Individual therapy
Most of my interventions come from ACT, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, in which classic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is coupled with Mindfulness training. People seek therapy when in pain. My aim is to help ease a client’s distress by asking good questions, demonstrating understanding, and sharing useful feedback. I help clients clarify their values - which can serve as a roadmap out of their difficult situation. Within the context of a non-judgmental, warm relationship, clients can learn to better assess thoughts for accuracy and usefulness, build more self-compassion, and engage in behavior change. These three aspects of therapy relieve emotional distress, improve relationship satisfaction, and lead to improvement in functioning. Everyone is unique, though, so I tailor my interventions to their particular situation.
Couples therapy
I use a model for couples therapy developed by Drs. Ellyn Bader and Peter Pearson from The Couples Institute. Usually, couples come to therapy wanting me to help them change their partner. When waiting for their partner to change, people can become frustrated and hopeless. Alternatively, when they take charge of making their own changes, people can feel more powerful. Together, the three of us develop a plan where each can focus on changing themself. As they make their own changes, they affect the relationship. We become a team, working together to enhance connection, ease misunderstandings, and develop the relationship you want. It brings me great satisfaction to see couples on the verge of splitting up become skilled at communicating effectively, and enjoy each other’s company again. It is also not surprising, but they often report that their children become happier and less distressed. The rewards of doing couples work are plentiful.
Family therapy
I have worked with a number of adult children and older adults to improve their adult child/parent relationship. For this work, I have borrowed the model from The Couples Institute; it works quite well to foster hope, and increase understanding and connection. With families with adolescents, I apply a similar map to improve interpersonal functioning while also honoring the power structure of the family. Sharing feedback in a compassionate way can help each family member identify their own contribution to the family’s struggles, while also clarifying the changes they need to make to make the family work in more loving ways. The work of the therapy is helping each person identify what gets in the way of change. Together, we dismantle these blocks to needed transformation.