What does therapy with me look like?
My orientation as a therapist is humanistic. I believe you are the best knower of yourself, and that you already have within you everything you need to heal. And, sometimes we can all use a little help. The tools I use to help people get unstuck in their healing process are cognitive behavioral. This means exploring your thoughts and actions, and understanding their relationship with how you feel. We then work together to find new perspectives and ways of moving in the world.
In cognitive therapy for depression, we will get to know your thoughts and emotions. We will explore your lived experiences, to see how your learning or trauma history might be affecting your mood. We will look for patterns, and help you find clarity on which ones serve you, and which ones might have served you in the past but need updating to help you live well in your present. We will work on finding new ways to connect with meaning and joy.
In exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP) for OCD, we will identify intrusive thoughts, images, or urges that are frightening or distressing for you (obsessions) and the actions you take to try to avoid uncertainty or reduce that distress (compulsions). I will support you in addressing your compulsions and building a new relationship with your anxiety. We will hold space for processing the emotions that arise for you during that process, and your lived experience or contextual factors that have affected the way your OCD presents for you.
In cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for trauma and PTSD, we will learn about how trauma has affected the way you think and feel about the world, yourself, and other people. We will work on honoring your sadness, grief, and anger, and processing unwarranted guilt and shame.
In prolonged exposure therapy (PE) for trauma and PTSD, we will do deep work on processing the memories you have about your trauma. This therapy also focuses on helping you reclaim parts of your life you may be avoiding since the trauma, and to work through fears that you may have developed since the trauma.
In CBT for insomnia (CBT-I) we will do a careful assessment of your insomnia. I may recommend an evaluation to rule out any medical issues affecting your sleep. You and I will work together to address additional factors that can affect sleep, including sleep hygiene, anxiety or stress, and developing a sleep schedule that works with your biorhythms to improve your quality of rest.
When working together on suicidality and self-harm, we will explore what a “life worth living” for you might look like. We will do a careful assessment for trauma, grief and loss, systemic harm, and other stressors, and make sure we are addressing these. We will support you in finding sources of meaning and resilience. We will work to strengthen your connections with community and a sense of belonging. We will have open conversations about not only your safety, but also your autonomy.