General Treatment Approach
“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”—Viktor Frankl
People seek therapy for many reasons. My initial goal in therapy is to learn about what brings each person in and to assess if it feels like a good fit for both client and therapist. Once a relationship is established, the first several sessions are typically spent identifying goals and establishing an agreed upon understanding of the problem that is to be addressed. These sessions are also important to develop rapport; trust and safety in the therapy relationship. For therapy to be effective, a client needs to be able to feel that they can be open and honest about themselves without a fear of judgement.
My training and experience have led me to develop a style of working with people that integrates from various theoretical orientations including: Psychodynamic theory, mindfulness, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, EMDR and cognitive theories. I utilize interventions that are best suited for my clients coming from a three pronged approach:
Identifying past experiences that play a role in current distress
Identifying present situations that bring up distress
Developing skills to be able to accomplish goals and to not be controlled by past experiences
People are often frustrated that they are repeating patterns that their logical brain “knows” are not working for them. They often feel defeated as they have usually tried many methods of addressing a problem by the time they get to therapy. It is usually relieving for people to learn that logic does not work with the part of the brain that reacts to urges and impulses that have been “wired in” and these responses usually occur before we even have the opportunity to use cognitive thought. Modern neuroscience has shown us how we can interrupt these connections and create new wiring and write new stories.
