I work with my clients virtually and, through non-judgmental, conversational, supportive, analytical, and intellectually informed dialogue, I help them reach a better understanding of their lived-experience and the meaning it holds that has led them to their current pattern of living. This results in enough objective distance to shift perception and leads to greater self-acceptance and self-awareness that has positive effects on its own and makes change possible.
These tools were once our only options and, although they served us well at the time, they are often outdated and maladaptive when it comes to our current circumstances and, as a result, lead to negative outcomes. In these situations, we are not only using outdated and often blunt coping tools, we are also operating with an old, outdated, internal schema to make sense of our current adversity, skewing and clouding our perception in ways that make positive outcomes difficult or impossible.
You may find your coping strategies are negatively impacting your relationships, personal, and professional growth along with your mental and even physical health. However, it's important to identify, explore, understand, and honor the tools that once served you well, got you to a safer, better place in life and, in some cases, allowed you to survive.
Once I have a clearer understanding of what my clients' have experienced along with their emotional and behavioral responses to these experiences, in addition to demonstrating empathy and understanding, I start by providing as much psychoeducation as possible. Attaching the right language and evidence-based theory to their lived-experience not only helps my clients to better, and more objectively, understand the hows and whys of what they have, or are, going through, it serves to normalize something that they often feel is unique to them in ways they formerly perceived as negative and shameful.
There is no one technique, intervention, or framework applicable to each and every client. Knowing this, I invest considerable time outside of sessions to find or perfect approaches that fit the unique needs of each individual. Some of this work involves furthering my knowledge base and toolbox of techniques, locating resources tailored to individual clients' needs and personality, creating individualized treatment plans, and partnering with my clients' other care providers as necessary.
I not only draw on my knowledge and skill related to the field of psychology, when applicable I use my knowledge of art, literature, history, media, sociology, and the sciences, among other things, as a way to further my clients' understanding of their specific concern but can also serve as a way to relate and connect. Additionally, I do not underestimate the impact that that our socio-cultural-political-economic climate can have on the inner and outer lives of my clients and bring that into the room when I feel it necessary.
I am trained and experienced in the use of EMDR and have achieved some of the most dramatic, positive, lasting change and resolution to a variety of problems in a much shorter period of time than would be the case with other therapeutic interventions. EMDR can be successfully employed to resolve or improve almost any type struggle or growth opportunity I can think of. Additionally, I am sex positive, kink and LGBTQ+ aware, educated, and experienced, as well as being multiculturally competent.
Having me as a second set of eyes in the medication process has proved invaluable for those clients who rely on them as part of their overall treatment process. I try to work closely with my clients' prescribers and refer most of my clients to a highly skilled psychiatrist I have worked with for almost 15 years and in whom I have the utmost respect and trust. His approach is very nuanced and effective. As is often the case, patients come to him with more than one set of symptoms and he is very adept at knowing which needs to be addressed first. He has a vast understanding around a wide variety of psychiatric medications and how they can best be combined. He also relies on, and responds quickly to, patient input. As a result of his efforts, my clients feel like a better version of themselves vs feeling the effects of overmedication or negative side effects. Partnering with him helps me help my clients better understand the effects of their medication. Medication, for those who need it, makes therapy easier and more effective. The right meds serve to widen a person's window for distress tolerance. This means they are able to explore and sit with distressing content for longer periods of time without being triggered into extreme dysregulation or dissociation, for instance, both of which make the therapeutic process a much longer and more arduous process.
We are not aiming for perfection. We are aiming for the growth that comes with the flexibility achieved through vulnerability, authenticity, and self-awareness.
My practice is diverse and I draw from many different approaches and modalities as well as from my knowledge of art, literature, history, popular media, sociology and science, among other fields when approaching your specific concern and relating to your larger context. Identifying points of connection with clients is very important to me. I’m trained in E.M.D.R., which I have used to help clients deal with serious trauma and addictions as well as issues related to personal and professional development. I am also a sex-positive, kink aware therapist.
I work closely with prescribers to help me clients monitor and understand the effects of their medications and have a good working knowledge of many of the meds used to treat psychological and emotional distress. .
There is value in your suffering as well as your success. The therapeutic relationship is designed to help you decide how best to leverage all your experiences to allow you to move forward with more clarity and strength. We are not aiming for perfection. We are aiming for the growth that comes with the flexibility found in vulnerability, authenticity and self awareness.