Treatment Process

Complimentary Consultation

I offer a complimentary 20-minute consultation to determine goodness of fit. It is fairly informal and will provide you with an opportunity to ask any questions that you might have.

The consultation also allows me to gain a sense of what you are looking for in a therapist and in treatment in order to decide if I am the best fit for you. Typically, I will ask you about your goals for therapy.

If I recognize that I am not the right provider for you, I can recommend alternative types of therapy or other providers that may better meet your needs.

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Core Interventions

  • The foundation of my work with clients, psychodynamic psychotherapy focuses on identifying patterns and dynamics in your present life that stem from your past.

    Psychodynamic work can be especially helpful for:

    Exploring family dynamics

    Identifying the impact of intergenerational themes and traumas

    Identifying strategies typically used for getting needs met

    Understanding learned models for emotional expression

    Identifying the impact of society and culture on personal expectations and beliefs

  • If we decide to begin Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety or depression, I will assign homework that helps you start to see the connection between your thoughts, feelings and behaviors. We will also start to identify patterns of distorted thinking that are contributing to how you feel.

  • If we decide to begin CPT, we will spend the next 12-15 sessions helping you understand how significant traumatic events in your life altered your sense of safety, trust, and self-esteem. We will specifically work on identifying key thoughts that shifted as a result of a traumatic event that are impacting your day to day life.

Intake Session

Our initial sessions will consist of you beginning to tell your story, providing a general overview of significant events in your life. This helps me conduct a biopsychosocial assessment in order to inform treatment and assess which interventions might be most beneficial for you. 

Following this session I will begin working on your treatment plan in accordance with your expressed goals and treatment preferences and will usually send over an initial writing exercise and assessment.

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Supplementary Interventions

  • Focused on emotional regulation, DBT involves elements of mindfulness training to improve an individual’s ability to self-soothe. DBT is also helpful for clients looking to identify new coping strategies in an effort to move away from unhelpful ones.

  • Typically utilized when clients are wanting to change a certain behavior but are a bit ambivalent about making that change. Motivational interviewing focuses on identifying the pros and cons of the change and what you have to lose by not changing.