Therapy Philosophy

After studying multiple methods and providing thousands of hours of psychotherapy, I have distilled my healing philosophy down to the following 8 principles that embody the core of my practice.  If this approach speaks to you, you’ve come to the right place.     

Experience a Safe and Trusting Relationship

Research shows that a trusting relationship with a therapist is the most essential ingredient for successful psychotherapy. To promote this trust, I create a non-judgmental space where exploration of all topics is welcomed. Moreover, I strive to be another human being in the room with you, a safe presence attuning to you and the challenges you are facing.

Connect your Head with your Heart

Therapists used to believe that uncovering unconscious conflicts was all we needed to create change.  This is not the case.  In fact, our brains store information in multiple emotional centers – so we are not always able to just “think our way out” of a problem.  That is why it is so important to integrate thinking, feeling, and body awareness in a holistic psychotherapy.  In working with me, I’ll use the tools of AEDP (Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy) and IFS (Internal Family Systems) so that growth and change are connected and integrated within you. 

Name the Nameless

Words don’t always come easy when we encounter painful, confusing, or disorienting experiences. Unfamiliar inner terrains and memories can paralyze us. Learning how to recapture the nuance of thoughts and feelings gives us back our identity and helps us to become better communicators of our inner world. There is power in the process of expression and I help individuals to find their voice.

Get in Touch with your Inner Compass

Many people have trouble making decisions and regularly feel stuck or at a crossroads; they have difficulty trusting their “gut” to make the best choices. I help my clients to harness their emotions and understand how intuition works. The result is finding balance so that thinking, feeling and knowing inform one another and the path becomes clearer.

Understand how you arrived here and where you plan to go

Taking time to reflect and connect the dots of our past is helpful to understanding the present. Have you ever wondered why you chose your partner or career? Why this type of person always gets under your skin? From time to time, we are driven by invisible currents that guide our behaviors. The process of becoming aware of these forces allows us to live more consciously and to have more control over the choices we make.

Enhance Communication Skills

Feeling invisible is a terrible experience. When our voice is swallowed by the intensity of others, we lose footing in the world.   By developing emotional communication skills, such as identifying our needs and learning to speak them effectively with others, we increase our confidence and stay centered when conflict and challenge come our way.

Know the Way You Think and Change it When Necessary

Using techniques from CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), I teach individuals how to identify and change common brain biases (black and white thinking, catastrophizing, discounting the positive, etc). The results are increased mental flexibility and exiting stressful emotional states (such as sadness and anxiety) more quickly. While we can all think ourselves into a rut from time to time, there’s no reason to stay there any longer than necessary.

Heal Trauma

Why go back there? That was so long ago, what’s the point? Many people walk with the heaviness of trauma on a daily basis. When working with these wounds, the goal is never to erase the past or revisit it for the sake of revisiting, but rather to carry these burdens differently and unlock energy that is spent keeping this pain at bay. We all deserve to connect, feel secure, and live fully.  There are safe and powerful ways to work with trauma so that our past does not cage us in the present. I have worked with many veterans, domestic violence and sexual abuse survivors, as well as crime victims to take back control of their lives.