About Therapy
On Therapy
Therapy has many functions.
Some people seek relief from emotional and physical pain, sleep problems, addictions, compulsions, unhelpful habits, or excessive worry. Many others use therapy to address relationship concerns, relational dissatisfactions, and maladaptive interpersonal patterns learned from earlier relationships. Some are recovering from trauma and need a safe space to process very difficult memories and emotions. Others hope to learn ways to increase their enjoyment of life and work, and to set goals that expand their experience of serenity and fullness.
What threads through?
I believe people seeking therapy often exhibit a willingness to make changes, to set new directions, and to be curious and open to learning more about one’s values, identities, fears and desires.
What elements help people make lasting changes?
Much has been researched and talked about this topic. One consistent finding and consensus in the field is that the patient-therapist alliance is a reliable predictor of positive clinical outcomes. Therefore trust and shared positive regard in the therapist-patient dyad are crucial components in achieving therapeutic advances.
I believe this is my greatest strength.
I attend very carefully to each person’s strengths and vulnerabilities, and make my best efforts to emphasize the experience of feeling understood. Deep suffering often ensues when how one feels inside is misaligned with how others perceive them. I believe therapy can enhance wellbeing by helping clients to voice and experience themselves as their authentic selves.
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you”
– Maya Angelou
Another essential element for change is self compassion.
Most people have already attempted and failed at forcing themselves to make changes out of self directed anger, impatience, shame, and a deeply rooted propensity for self criticism. Or they may reach their goals but not without bruising their egos, self esteem, and important relationships. I invite you to learn another way, to more gently guide and redirect rather than push towards your desired destinations.
Behavioral and cognitive interventions also deserve attention.
Therapy can help people establish a different relationship with their minds, and in turn, their emotional awareness and processing. We will examine how we talk to ourselves, how we imagine others telling our story, and how we ourselves can narrate our own story. I integrate various approaches to assist my clients in this process: Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT), Cognitive and Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness practice, and narrative/cultural-relational/psychodynamic approaches to understanding complex psychological processes. When appropriate, I provide suggestions for behavioral practices between sessions, in order to bridge what we do in therapy to everyday life.