Psychotherapy Practice

My Approach

I believe good therapy involves science, art, philosophy, spirituality, creativity, and playfulness. In therapy, we learn and practice new ways of living more fully and freely. My clients often describe me as engaging, compassionate, insightful, present and responsive.

I use an integrative therapeutic approach that includes Acceptance and Commitment, Psychodynamic, Narrative, Relational-Cultural, Cognitive Behavioral (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS) and mindfulness based modalities.

More practically speaking, I ask many questions, listen intently, share hypotheses and adjust them with your input, provide psychoeducation as needed, offer suggestions and strategies when appropriate, practice emotion regulation in session, and most importantly, walk the path with you in your search for respite, solutions, or new directions. I flow between supportive listening to more participatory/guided therapy depending on the stage and focus of our work, client preferences, and my own clinical intuition of what may help us move forward.

Here are some examples of issues we may talk about in therapy:

Identifying and communicating needs
Reducing emotion dysregulation and reactivity
Coping with perfectionism, fear of failure
Managing difficult relationships
Alleviating a self critical mind
Recognizing cultural contexts of suffering
Feeling and sharing vulnerability
Understanding and making friends with our difficult parts
Managing regrets, letting go
Addressing feelings of loneliness, alienation
Coping with discrimination, oppressive systems
Reshaping fear based thinking/living
Finding your person/people
Increasing confidence, self esteem
Grieving losses (people, places, jobs, transitions)
Cultivating creative energies
Understanding and building on your strengths

“And it’s inside myself that I must create someone who will understand”

– Clarice Lispector

First Session

During the intake session, time will be spent identifying presenting issues, sharing relevant background, and setting treatment goals. Clients then generally attend weekly or biweekly, 45-minute (individual) or 60-minute (couples, sometimes individual) sessions. We can determine frequency and timeline depending on your particular needs and clinical presentation. We periodically will evaluate progress in treatment and revise goals as needed. If we find out that I am not the best match for your needs, I can offer you referrals to other providers. It is important to find the right fit, as effective therapy requires trust, time, and investment on both sides.