Individual Adult Psychotherapy
My Approach
Clients of all ages and backgrounds come to see me because they long to make a change in their lives, because they need emotional support, and because they find themselves struggling with anxiety or depression. My work is holistic, practical, and psychodynamic, which means I pay attention to the ways in which the subconscious might be influencing behavior and decision-making. My style is playful but serious, informal but focused.
My work is informed by the belief that we all still have pain from wounds we got early in our lives. The more we can acknowledge, understand, and attend to the parts of ourselves that are hurt, the less likely we are to let those parts drive our behavior. I really like an idea from Richard Schwartz, founder of Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapy. Schwartz writes, “Several times a day, I check to see if my heart is open. If it’s not, I ask myself, ‘What am I protecting myself from?’” I believe that part of therapy is about checking in to see if we’re protecting ourselves too much or not enough, so that we can open our hearts as wide as possible.
Many of my clients come in to work on a specific challenge or goal and just as many come in to explore who they are and what they want their lives to be. Our lives tend to move pretty fast; it’s easy to avoid oneself altogether. Therapy is an opportunity to be with oneself for an hour each week, to be witnessed by another, and to sort through one’s internal and external life.
I have a long history of using mindfulness practices, personally and professionally, to bolster mental health, pursue self-exploration, and maintain a balanced state of mind. If this is something that interests you, please inquire.
My Process
I think of individual psychotherapy as a shared project between myself and the client. We identify goals, check in with one another about how we’re feeling about the process, and we explore how to find meaning, in life and in the therapy room.
My sessions for adult individuals are 50 minutes long. I find that we make more progress with consistent, weekly sessions. The first session or two are more of an interview, where we go deep into the challenges that led clients to seek therapy. In those initial sessions, we explore the client’s familial, relationship, and mental health history. And then we take it from there.
Types of Cases I see:
Anxiety and stress related to career and professional life. I see a lot of clients at all stages in their careers who are seeking help coping with work-related stress. I believe that, as they say in narrative therapy, the person’s not the problem, the problem is the problem. We examine where the stress is coming from, when it tends to show up, and what conditions are necessary to help the client to turn their back on stress and anxiety.
Depression. Lots of clients come to see me because they’re experiencing depression, either acutely or over a longer period of time. I work with clients to externalize the depression—see it as something as separate from themselves—and to identify what structural changes they can make to their lives to help keep the depression away. I work with clients who are experiencing depression to contextualize and understand the major events and relationships in their lives, cultivate stronger connections to others, and look at how they make decisions.
Low self-esteem. When working with clients who have low self-esteem, we examine and dismantle their negative core beliefs about themselves. We then work to cultivate lifestyles, habits, and creative outlets that help clients see themselves as they truly are.
Improving relationships. I often work with clients who are looking for support more effectively connecting with their loved ones. We work together to navigate challenging relationships with partners, parents, siblings, and friends.
Finding a partner. Clients often come to me because they’re having difficulties finding love. We take a good look at what’s getting in the way, which can be any number of things: fear of intimacy and commitment; overly rigid outlooks, lifestyles, and habits; and a lack of experience in cultivating positive relationships.
Sex therapy. I work with a lot of individual clients who are looking to cultivate more satisfying sex lives. Individuals come to see me to examine their erotic templates, increase their ability to experience and cultivate intimacy, and overcome challenges such as erectile unpredictability (AKA erectile dysfunction), sexual compulsion, pain during sex, and premature ejaculation. I also work with individual clients who want to explore consensual non-monogamy and polyamory. This work can be delicate and intimidating; it can also be fun, exciting, and life-changing.
Substance abuse. Coping with addiction is a challenge for so many of us. I provide an open, non-judgmental space for clients to consider and improve their relationship to drugs and alcohol. My work with those struggling with addiction is more gentle than prescriptive; I provide warm and nurturing support to clients looking to reduce any harm they may be doing to themselves.