Psychotherapy
My practice offers a broad range of approaches to helping clients improve the quality of their lives. My treatments include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), and psychodynamic (also known as insight-oriented) psychotherapy for children, adolescents, and adults. I treat individuals, families, couples, and groups.
An initial consultation begins with a careful history of each patient’s life story, but more importantly involves active listening to the client’s ideals, goals and feelings. After a mutual dialogue, I will offer a thorough explanation of the various treatment options which are designed to have patients seek the program most congruent with their needs and life goals.
In psychotherapy, patients explore the conflicts that contribute to their symptoms and suffering. This exploratory process can be powerful and life-changing, enabling them to understand and master troublesome patterns in their lives. When necessary, I also use pharmacotherapy to further aid symptom relief.
Therapy can be short-term, focusing on a specific issue, or longer-term, addressing more complex issues or ongoing personal growth. There may be times when patients are asked to take certain actions outside of the therapy sessions, such as reading a relevant book or keeping records to track certain behaviors. It is important to process what has been discussed and integrate it into the patient’s life between sessions. Patients must be active participants, during and between sessions. People involved in psychotherapy work towards self-change and create greater awareness in their lives.
In some cases, a combination of medication and therapy is the right course of action. It is well established that the long-term solution to mental and emotional problems, and the pain that they cause, cannot be solved solely by medication, however, at times medication can help people make the most of their therapy. In some rare cases medication is needed in order to initiate therapy. Instead of just treating the symptom, therapy addresses the cause of the patient’s distress and the behavior patterns that curb their progress. The patient can best achieve sustainable growth and a greater sense of well-being with an integrative approach to wellness. It is my role to help patients use the means necessary to grow toward a more fulfilling, healthy life.