My Approach to Helping
I am the Founder and President of Serenity Lane Psychological Services, a private practice in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I currently provide teletherapy (online video therapy) in New York and Florida to adults struggling with variety of life challenges. I am a firm believer in facilitating positive self-change no matter how great or small. My goal is to help guide you through your own personal journey towards emotional wellness and recovery. I achieve this by providing you with opportunities to improve self-confidence and self-esteem, create healthy lifestyle adjustments, foster acceptance through a mindfulness approach, develop inner serenity and resiliency, and promote your overall sense of well-being. In addition to traditional treatments (such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy), I offer the option to incorporate therapeutic yoga techniques for emotional healing into traditional psychotherapy sessions.
More Info About My Practice
I am a licensed psychologist in Florida and New York with expertise in the areas of stress, anxiety, phobias, depression, drug and alcohol addiction and recovery, coping with a loved one's addiction, and chronic mental illness (bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorder). I also help those struggling with communication and relationship issues, codependency, grief and loss, and life transitions. I have extensive training and clinical experiences in community mental health, psychiatric inpatient, and substance abuse settings. The scope of my training has primarily focused on the areas of substance abuse, dual diagnosis, and chronic mental illness. I obtained both my Master's and Doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale with a concentration in Long Term Mental Illness. Additionally, I completed my Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Fordham University in New York City. I am certified in using therapeutic yoga as a way to improve your emotional well-being and help you learn how to connect your mind with your body. I completed the 100 hour Yoga Therapy For Mental Health Advanced Certification training in using therapeutic yoga for emotional healing at the Aum Home Shala in Coconut Grove, FL. This IAYT accredited training was part of the Yoga Teacher Development Training Program for Yoga Therapy and Mental Health. She is additionally a Certified Yoga Instructor at the 500 hour level in Vinyasa Yoga and at the 20 hour level in Yin Yoga as defined by the Yoga Alliance.
My View on the Purpose of Psychotherapy
I believe you have the power and ability to take control of your own life and destiny, which is a therapeutic goal I aim to facilitate. We as humans often find ourselves in a cycle of harmful habits or addictions where we make questionable life decisions as a result of any common life challenge including a lifestyle transition, job change or loss, grief and loss, medical or mental health condition, or traumatic experience. These challenges can lead to a feeling of helplessness or even a state of despair. In my practice, I focus on providing you with the coping techniques, life skills, and emotional strength necessary for you to develop your own healthy lifestyle adjustments. I will help you create a new path of your choosing to follow so you are better equipped to handle future challenges that may come your way. Therapy can serve as the window to your soul and can be an important instrument towards living a healthy and purposeful life.
My Role as a Therapist
I highly value my approach as a psychologist in which I take on a "Here and Now" perspective to treatment. By utilizing ideas like mindfulness and acceptance, I aim to help you focus on the things you can control in the "now", as opposed to dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. I utilize an eclectic therapeutic approach for implementing innovative coping techniques and fostering positive self-change, which often involves an interpersonal, motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioral, and-or solution-focused orientation. I will encourage you to arrive at your own goals solutions and and develop a fresh perspective by serving as a facilitator throughout the course of your emotional recovery.
My Therapy Focus
My therapeutic approach and treatment methods incorporate a cognitive-behavioral and solution-focused orientation. In addition to traditional treatment modalities, I also offer the option to incorporate therapeutic yoga techniques for emotional healing into traditional psychotherapy sessions if I believe this may be helpful in your recovery from stress, anxiety, depression, or addiction.
Dr. Heather Violante completed the 100 hour Yoga Therapy For Mental Health Advanced Certification training in using therapeutic yoga for emotional healing. (This IAYT accredited training was part of the Yoga Teacher Development Training Program for Yoga Therapy and Mental Health). She is additionally a Certified Yoga Instructor at the 200 hour level in Vinyasa Yoga and at the 20 hour level in Yin Yoga as defined by the Yoga Alliance.
