Helping People Find Therapists & Advocating for Ethical and Healthy Therapy & Marriage Counseling Practices

My Approach to Helping

Most people who come to see me experience some beginning of positive shift within the first or second session. My aim is to use the best treatment for each person; no two people are alike, and no single treatment is good for everyone, so I use the best of several treatments to create an approach that is both gentle and effective. I combine several different types of psychotherapy with hypnosis and energy therapies.

When I ask people at the end of their therapy what worked best for them, they most often say it is the sense of safety and warmth that I provide, along with the usefulness of the self-therapy that I teach.

 

More Info About My Practice

For many people fees are an important issue. My fees are sliding scale, according to your income, but the average fee is $120.

Usually people want to know if I take insurance. I provide an insurance statement that you can send to your insurance company.

 

Specific Issue(s) I'm Skilled at Helping With

 

On the Fence About Going to Therapy?

Being "on the fence" is a GOOD thing. It means you are motivated toward growth, but also you are aware that therapy is work, and and that it takes some courage and strength to do that work. It may also mean that there's some awareness that not all therapists fit all people. There are lots of good therapists, just as there are lots of good shoes... but not all shoes fit all feet, and not all therapists fit all people. We need our therapists to fit us well, like shoes. People tend to shop for shoes, and try a few on before buying -- but they often go to the first therapist they find. Selecting a therapist who is good and who fits you is a very important shopping trip. You are choosing someone to share your deepest self with...I suggest you see a few, or talk to a few on the phone before making a first appointment. You can get some idea of "fit" this way. Another reason being on the fence is a good place to be is that it probably means your subconscious mind is getting ready for therapy. This is very good news for two reasons: 1) you have a smart unconscious -- it knows the importance of timing --- and 2) You have time for that important shopping trip.

 

Had a Negative Therapy Experience?

Many people who have arrived in my office have had a bad therapy experience. Sometimes it was incompetence, sometimes an ethical violation, and sometimes it's just a bad fit. Very often it is inexperience on the part of the therapist. We call this a "practice" because we are always practicing without ever becoming perfect, but the longer I have been in practice(since 1985)the more I am able to recognize the source of a bad therapy experience. Like any other profession, psychotherapy has some practitioners who for one reason or another just aren't delivering the best service. That is why shopping is so important. An unfortunate contributor to bad psychotherapy experiences is some people's readiness to hand over their authority to experts, and this seems to happen far too much with psychotherapists. This might be because training for psychotherapy practice has traditionally required previous therapy; but that is no longer true (and even then, not all were completely ethical and perfectly competent). All it takes is getting the degree and then passing a license exam. Just because someone has a degree and a license doesn't make him/her an expert on YOU. You are the expert on you. You have a sense of what you need in a psychotherapist, and if you trust your gut you may feel who is right for you, who fits best, when you talk to a few professionals by phone. If you make a mistake, shop again, just as you would for shoes. Good fit helps you move forward; bad fit holds

 

Why Going to Therapy Does Not Mean You are Weak or Flawed

Some people think that going to therapy means something is wrong with you, and maybe you are weak. What I see is that the person who seeks growth is the person least afraid of change, so I think that going to therapy means something is RIGHT with you, and maybe you have some unidentified STRENGTH. What we therapists see repeatedly is that it is the strongest person in a family who seeks therapy first.

Services I Provide

• Individual Therapy & Counseling
• Marriage, Couples, or Relationship Counseling
• Family Therapy
• Group Therapy
• Consultation
• Clinical Supervision
• Home-Based Therapy
• Other

Ages I Work With

• Teens
• Adults
• Elders

Languages I Speak

• English

Therapy Approaches I Use

• Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
• Art Therapy
• Autogenic Training
• Biofeedback / Neurofeedback
• Body Psychotherapy
• Body-Mind Psychotherapy
• Breathwork
• Client-Directed Outcome-Informed Therapy
• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy /REBT
• Collaborative Therapy / Collaborative Language Systems
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)
• Contemplative Psychotherapy
• Critical Incidence Stress Debriefing
• Depth Hypnosis
• Depth Therapy
• Dreamwork & Dream Analysis
• Emotional Freedom Technique
• Energy Psychology
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing
• Family Systems Therapy
• Feminist Therapy
• Gestalt Therapy
• Guided Therapeutic Imagery
• Holistic Psychotherapy
• Humanistic Psychology
• Hypnotherapy
• Imago Relationship Therapy
• Integration of different therapy models
• Interpersonal Psychotherapy
• Journey Therapy
• Mindfulness Based Approaches
• Non-Violent Communication
• Object Relations
• Other - Not Listed Here
• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy
• Person Centered / Rogerian
• Play Therapy
• Process Oriented Psychology
• Psycho-Physical Therapy
• Psychodynamic
• Psychosynthesis
• Relational Psychotherapy
• Relationship Enhancement Therapy
• Sand Tray / Sand Play Therapy
• Somatic Psychotherapy
• Systems Theory /Therapy
• Timeline Therapy
• Transactional Analysis
• Transpersonal Psychotherapy

Concerns & Issues I Help With

• Identity Issues
• Attachment
• Trauma
• Abuse: Emotional, Physical, or Sexual
• Life Changes
• Anxiety, Fear, & Stress
• Emotion Management
• Family Problems
• Health & Body
• Childhood & Adolescence
• Relationships & Marriage
• Social Skills & Problems
• Occupational & Academic Issues
• Depression & Mood
• Reproduction
• Self-Esteem & Confidence
• Sexuality
• Spirituality
• Self-Harm & Suicide