Every person has a unique constellation of life experiences that inform their choice to seek out therapy. There are different reasons for why and when people choose to consult with a therapist. You may be coping with a rough life transition, adjusting to an unexpected change or loss, or may experience longstanding dissatisfaction with career or relationships.
If you are feeling depressed or anxious, a consultation is a good way to begin to define what you need and which care options can be the most successful. I have created an integrated approach that is highly interactive and collaborative. I combine my expertise in mindfulness, CBT, and psychodynamic therapy to tailor a therapeutic intervention suited to your specific needs and goals.
Approach
Mindfulness
Mindfulness cultivates a new way of relating to internal and situational experiences using curiosity, empathy, and skillful response. Mindfulness-based psychotherapy teaches you to experience and respond to unwanted thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations in a helpful way. An important role of mindfulness skills is to facilitate self-regulation of bodily sensations, feelings and mood. Strong evidence documents the effectiveness of mindfulness based psychotherapies. These approaches find the means and methods that interrupt the default patterns of thought that prolong depressed mood and anxiety. This awareness reduces the grip of painful thought loops and strengthens relapse prevention. Mindfulness practice helps you develop the habit of seeing thoughts without immediately reacting to them. This self-observation enriches the work of other psychotherapies creating a powerful intervention.
CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
When CBT meets mindfulness, you become more intimately aware of how you think about yourself, others and the problems you face. CBT is action-focused. In cognitive-behavior therapy you focus on taking practical action in the present. By examining your thought patterns, you improve your ability to discern the accuracy of your thoughts. CBT helps you challenge inaccurate thoughts and self-perceptions and develop new, effective ways to approach your problems. The benefits of all psychotherapy are exercise dependent-kind of like going to the gym, the more you workout, the stronger you become. In CBT you will complete regular “therapy homework” to practice the techniques and skills you learn.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Our earliest relationships profoundly shape the beliefs we hold about ourselves and set the stage for how we experience subsequent relationships. When we recognize chronic dissatisfaction in our relationships in work or in love, psychodynamic therapy offers insight into the recurring patterns we have developed over time. Evaluating these patterns helps us understand defense strategies we use to cope with anxiety and distress.
Psychodynamic therapy moves beyond simple symptom relief to developing an understanding of what’s at the root of the conflict.
The heart of this work lies in becoming acquainted with how old memory networks color your mood, and learning new, adaptive ways to relate to the present. In psychodynamic work, we examine anxiety and defenses as they arise in session in real time. The therapeutic relationship becomes a vehicle for change as past patterns are explored through the lens of the present moment. As you deepen your self-awareness, you will feel less controlled by the forces of the past. This is a powerful process, creating new interpersonal experiences that become integrated as internal resources and strengthen us. Psychodynamic work helps us explore a fuller range of our emotions and promotes a sense of greater awareness, personal integrity and choice.
