I have a general practice and work with adolescents and adults on a variety of problems ranging from coping with life's stressors to chronic mental illnesses. The approach to my work is based on an integration of interpersonal psychotherapy, cognitive-behavioral methods, and system approaches. This integrative framework allows me to draw on a number of treatment modalities based on the individual needs of clients. My approach is collaborative and designed to discover, to build, and to support strengths and opportunities for change.
On the whole, I take an active, solution-focused role in the therapy relationship as I draw on the depth and breadth of these modes of therapy. Psychotherapy works best when the therapist and client have formed a working alliance in which together they explore thoughts, feelings, and motivations as well as life patterns and relationships. Clients can expect me to listen with care as well as comment on or question statements, emotions, and behaviors in a respectful and competent but also an honest manner.
I have extensive training and experience in the treatment and diagnosis of a wide array of clinical presentations including issues related to mood, anxiety, trauma, grief, stress, eating, and adjustment.
In clinical practice I concentrate specifically on the following areas:
ANXIETY DISORDERS:
Anxiety disorders are very common and include symptoms such as restlessness, difficulty relaxing, problems sleeping, trouble concentrating, excessive worry and tension, and/or feelings of self-doubt.
These disorders include diagnoses such as:
Panic Disorder
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Social Anxiety
Specific Phobia (i.e. flying, insects, bridges, heights, etc.)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
MOOD DISORDERS:
Mood disorders, such as depression, can be characterized by some of the following symptoms: feeling depressed, diminished interest in everyday activities, social withdrawal, sleeping too much or sleeping too little, feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, eating too much or eating too little, loss of energy, difficulty concentrating, and sometimes frequent thoughts of death or dying.
Bipolar disorders include: experiencing the depressive symptoms stated above, as well as experiencing an elevated or euphoric mood, such as a manic episode or hypomanic episode.
STRESS:
Stress can often be the result of exposure to difficult life events (i.e. relationships ending, divorce, loss of a job, loss of a loved one, serious accidents, victim of a violent attack or natural disaster). These events make some feel that getting back to "normal life" is "impossible."
UNDERSTANDING OURSELVES AND OUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS:
We learn much about ourselves in the context of our interactions with others. Often we are likely to have our most serious conflicts with our closest relationships.
COPING WITH MEDICAL ILLNESSES:
Physicians often refer their patients to psychologists with the following issues: adjustment to medical conditions, chronic pain, chronic fatigue, smoking cessation, chronic illnesses that affect the family, etc.
Illness often results in emotions such as anger, depression and fear. Taking care of our physical health includes understanding how we come to view ourselves in the context of an illness as well as understanding how we allow illness to affect our emotional experiences and if necessary making behavioral changes to ensure well being.
FOCUS ON WELL-BEING & HAPPINESS:
The path of self-discovery does not have to be unpleasant. In fact the more we understand our strengths and weaknesses as well as how we affect and are affected by others, the closer we come to living happier lives grounded in life-affirmation and meaning.
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