Clinicians who offer sliding scale payment structures may offer lower or reduced fees based on an individual's ability to pay. Please contact this clinician for more details regarding their fees or sliding scale policy.My Approach to Helping
If you are reading this, you no doubt are searching for a caring mental health professional who can help you be your best so that you can live an authentically joyful and fulfilling life. Barriers to you being exactly who you'd like to be can include anxiety and depression, which are common reasons for coming to therapy. However, anxiety and depression can be compounded by the grief of personal tragedies, stress generated by parenting and difficult family relationships, loss of employment or feelings of failure to keep up with others, the pressures of the digital age, and more. COVID-19 intensifies and complicates everything.
I am a strong believer in unconditionality. Many people start off by saying, "You're going to think I'm crazy but..." I remind them there is no "crazy" and that I am there to meet them where they are, in whatever form they present. In terms of therapeutic modalities, I use relational psychotherapy as the basis of my approach; Strong, fulfilling relationships with others can help people maintain well-being. Increasing a person's ability to build these relationships more effectively begins with the therapeutic alliance that we create in the safe and confidential space of therapy sessions. People also carry with them negative emotional states cemented by different types of trauma that can range from "big-T" events, such as abuse, to the cumulative bit-by-bit damage caused by experiencing everyday "little-T" events, including failed relationships, struggles with family and friends, stress related to the work place and being part of the world of work during COVID, dating, and yes, the negative impact of the modern digital life caused by social media and dating apps. I am EMDR trained and have extensive experience treating trauma.
Helping patients access and assemble bits and pieces of their experiences and histories is key! I encourage each person to develop insight into how their unique history informs their current struggles. Along the way, some patients make connections that lead them to greater understanding of the origins of their current anxietydepression states and how they became cemented in place as a result of relationships earlier in their life. This allows patients to better identify triggers in their current relationships, develop strategies to mitigate negative emotions and cognitions, and then incorporate these strategies into their daily lives.