Specialties
Anxiety concerns
Worry is tiring and exhausting. Whether it is generally about everything, about specific things or catastrophic in nature it is a bother and can really put a cramp in your stride. It is extremely common and seems to be having a resurgence in popularity of late. But there are so many great tools now that will help you address common types of anxiety including generalized anxiety, social anxiety, performance anxiety and OCD.
In truth many people who utilize Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for anxiety find that in time many of the worries that plagued them for a long time become very manageable if non-existent. We can start to diminish subjective feelings of anxiety, simply by evaluating how our thinking can drive a cycle of behavior and emotion that perpetuates anxiety. However we can really create lasting change by testing out new approaches and new ways of thinking that changes our behavior resulting in significantly reduced anxiety. Many people find that in no time they have a handle on anxiety just like the dog has a smart handle on some weeds: confident and quietly sure. Book a Consult by emailing me here!
Worth, self-esteem and self confidence.
Is your inner mean guy/gal getting you down? You are not alone. Concerns about self value and worth plague many people and it affects work performance, achievement, attainment of life dreams and relationship health. Many people aren’t quite sure what to do and their attempts to “feel good enough” often fail. Many of us interchange these concepts of worth, self-esteem and self-confidence but they are different and developing or accessing them require different approaches.
If you feel held back by these types of feelings, fear not, you can change your relationship to yourself and access something more enduring and satisfying. Book a Brief Consult by Emailing me here!
Relationship concerns
Has the joy, shared laughter and delight in your relationships seemed to dim as of late? Maybe you never have felt this with others but would like to. Has conflict, strife and disagreement taken up permanent occupancy in your relationships? Do you feel confident in how to love and be loved by others? Maybe you find communication confusing especially about topics that drive strong emotions in you. Therapy can help all of these concerns.
I integrate many different modalities, skill development and evidenced based approaches in my work with couples. A foundational framework of my couples therapy approach is the work of Dan Wile PhD who created the Collaborative Couples Therapy approach. Much of couple challenges arise out of a crisis in communication whereby important needs, desires, concerns and complaints are not expressed, heard or responded to. This can leave a couple feeling distant with negative sentiment dominating the couple mood. This can create elevated states of stress arousal in a couple increasing the likelihood that more fights and discontent will follow. A cycle of fighting that ends poorly with greater negative sentiment and higher stress and tension can be the outcome of daily interactions. Couples become disconnected and feel unentitled to their complaints or concerns or wishes and dreams and may simply exist together without feeling the love and nourishment that all couples desire and hope for. The brilliance of Dr. Wile’s approach is that he teaches and models to couples how to communicate effectively so that their concerns, complaints, wishes and dreams are heard and often readily responded to by their partner. Even if the problem is difficult to solve it allows gridlock to be released and productive dialogue to be achieved again.
I also integrate my training in the Gottman couples therapy approach. I have completed the Gottman level I and II trainings in Couples therapy, the Gottman Sex Therapy training as well as the Gottman Addiction Recovery training. John Gottman completed extensive research on couples and identified key features of couples that report high levels of satisfaction and tend to defend against divorce. The Gottman’s also have recognized effective tools developed by other practitioners and researchers and have actively included many of these skills in their work. A huge influence has been that of Dr. Wile. The Gottman’s include many key interventions and theories developed by Dr. Wile in their work to great benefit. The strength that the Gottman system provides are evidenced based methods to help clients achieve what the Gottman’s call “The sound relationship house” which not only includes skills in “fighting fairly” but also in learning how to rekindle “fondness and admiration” and nurture the friendship as well as each others “dreams and meaning making.” Book a Brief Consult by emailing me here!
Meaning, job and achievement
Working optimally, achieving your goals, finding meaning, addressing procrastination are challenges that can really make work and life disappointing. If you find yourself distracted by your phone, addicted to scrolling through social media and unable to be as productive as you’d like or have been in the past do you need some assistance rebalancing your priorities, energies and attention? Are you finding that you have achieved what you thought would make you happy- the job, relationship, graduate/school program etc. but are just in state of discontentment? If you’d like to address job related concerns, work productivity, meaning and fulfillment we can do that. Schedule a brief consult by email here!