My approach begins with conversation that can build rapport and trust with the individual or couple so that we can feel more comfortable talking together about personal matters. I am curious to find out what specifically the person or couple came to therapy for? What are they looking to deal with or change in themselves or their relationship? We discuss the various concerns or painful circumstances that brought them to therapy and formulate some individual/couple's goals that are representative of the issues, and are achievable and measurable.

My therapeutic approach involves a psychodynamic approach, that sets out to understand the problem and its origins. I am particularly interested in accessing the individual's/couples habitual ways of thinking and feeling about their problems and patterns, and the strategies they have used to deal with them. This provides an understanding of how they have come to be where they are, an assessment of what has and has not worked. We can then develop fresh strategies to undo the 'negative habit pattern' and motivate the person/couple to develop a more skillful means of relating to themselves and communicating with loved ones. The therapy begins to help the individual/couple develop the emotional courage and 'know how' for resolving difficulties and conflicts with more emotional resilience and intelligence.