My Approach to Psychotherapy, Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling

I work eclectically, and draw from a variety of therapeutic approaches to best meet the needs of each of my clients depending upon their particular needs.

I tend to resonate most closely with psychodynamic, developmental, humanistic, existential, transpersonal and relational orientations to psychotherapy, but also employ processes that focus more on somatic experience and the role of cognition and thought on psychological well-being and functioning.

I am familiar with both short-term and solution-focused strategies that concentrate on the more practical needs of persons experiencing conflicts or psychological and social stresses in their personal or professional lives, however, I am most “at home” in the more intensive process of depth psychotherapy.

As we begin to meet, I will invite you to talk with me about your life, as it is expressed outwardly and experienced inwardly, to try and understand the influences converging in the difficulties you may be having.

In our initial meeting, I will talk with you about what to expect from me and the therapeutic process, as well as the values that guide my work as a clinician in the hopes that it will help you feel more comfortable with our process, however I know the best assurance will be our interactions themselves, and a consistent experience of feeling both accepted and respected.

Even with an invitation, the process of sharing may not feel natural at first --- I understand! I believe it is crucial to help you feel as at ease as possible, and to convey my trust-worthiness and reliability as a clinician and a person.

Even when goal-oriented and focused, the process of psychotherapy can be a profoundly intimate and emotional, and while sharing may be both relieving and comforting, you may feel some understandable wariness as we begin, especially until you have a sense of me and my approach, and we become better acquainted.

This of course, takes time, but it can happen surprisingly quickly, as we begin to talk and reflect together on your psychological and emotional life.

I believe that, at its heart, the therapeutic endeavor is a human one, created in tandem by therapist and client. I also believe that the feelings and associations the can be evoked in this relationship can provide a powerful opportunity for learning, especially regarding those interpersonal patterns of relating that most deeply influence your life and experience of yourself and others.

Whether we are exploring these feelings and associations, your history, your life at present, your moment-to-moment experience of yourself and your feelings, your relationships with others, or any other aspect of your emotional and psychological life, I will try and guide your journey through the psychotherapeutic process thoughtfully, so it offers the reparative experience you are seeking.

While this process may at times evoke feelings of sorrow, shame, anger, remorse, guilt or even discomfort about the process of therapy, I will try and create an atmosphere that helps you to experience these feelings safely, without fear of reprisal or judgment.

I will help foster this sense of safety in a variety of ways, by:

• Listening to you attentively
• Communicating with you honestly
• Respecting your right to engage in psychotherapy at your own pace
• Seeking to understand you and your life and world from your own perspective
• Attending to your psychological needs thoughtfully, skillfully and ethically
• Providing therapeutic guidance, insight and reflections responsive to your particular needs, circumstance and goals
• Inviting you to share you thoughts and feelings with me, including regarding the process of therapy and how it affects you, and whether you are receiving what you want and need
• Regarding you as a whole and complex person, inherently valuable and with many qualities and attributes beyond the difficulties, symptoms or vulnerabilities you may be experiencing
• Respecting your right to direct and govern your own life, including to decide when you wish to discontinue the process of psychotherapy
• Helping you recognize and draw upon your natural capacities and strengths to attain or sustain the well-being you desire
• Encouraging you to seek alternative or adjunctive assistance if necessary to meet your needs
• Offering you psycho-educational information that may be helpful in broadening your awareness of those needs, situation, circumstance or experience we discuss
• Retaining a focus on you and your needs in our sessions