My Approach to Helping
I find that therapy works best when there is felt compatibility between myself and the person I am seeing. I believe you need to like your therapist and feel somewhat of a sense of ease in talking with one another from the start. I am a down to earth, no-nonsense kind of person. I am also kind, respectful, compassionate, and at times funny. I have spent many years studying psychotherapy and continue to do so. I focus a good deal on problematic feelings and experiences both in the here and now, how they will show up in our relationship, as well as how they originated in your earlier life. When I work with someone, the goal is for genuine change. The problems you might be facing have to do with love and loss, difficulty with friendships andor work relations, career decisions, trauma or abuse, physical illness or disabilities. Or you might be feeling disturbed by depression, loneliness, anxiety or fear, shame, emptiness, shyness, or any other feelings.I will be concerned with how the most important parts of your life are working for you. I am interested in helping individuals find a more gratifying career path, or help negotiate difficulties at work, andor find relationships that are satisfying. Having meaningful work and loving friends and partners is critical to a fulfilling life.
More Info About My Practice
In my view gratifying relationships are the bedrock of a contented life. How you handle your feelings and experiences will in large measure influence how well your life is seeming to you. But more importantly, if you have lived through hardships such as being abused and or have been neglected as a child, or were exposed to domestic violence or substance abuse in the home, you will likely find it easy to open up to me. These problems are typical for many of the people I work with. My interest in feelings has also led me to focus on the relationship between emotion and physical problems, such as chronic illness, pain, or disability. Often I find psychotherapy will help. This is a brief explanation of what I do as a psychotherapist, but I feel it would be better if we could talk for a while one-on-one to feel how we get along, or to see if I am the best person to address your problems. I would welcome hearing from you. I also supervise and consult with clinicians either requiring hours for their license, or those wishing to consult with me to widen their repertoire of skills. I have received advanced training in the Supervision Study Program of The Psychotherapy Institute. I have studied for many years in a wide variety of settings including community mental health, rehab, inpatient work for chronic pain, general low fee university-based clinics, domestic violence, and psychoanalyticpsychodynamic institutes. I have also taught, run case conferences, and supervised clinicians in training.
