Individual Therapy Services for Adults

Services Available In-Office or Virtually

We have found offering virtual therapy services greatly increases accessibility to therapy services. We continue to utilize technology so that you can still access high-quality therapy services from the comfort of your home. This includes:

• The use of a secure, HIPAA-compliant video-conferencing platform.

• Video-conferencing sessions can be attended via desktops, laptops, tablets, or smartphones.

• Electronic handouts available to you via email and our secure Client Portal.

• The use of tools such as Screen Sharing

• For DBT services, the use of Diary Card apps that allow you to share Diary Card entries with group leaders or individual therapists, and offer support for Skills practice in between sessions.

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Specialties

• Anxiety and depression symptoms associated with stressors of modern adulthood

• Stress symptoms related to traumatic experiences, grief, and loss

• Stress symptoms related to fertility, pregnancy, and motherhood

• Stress related to relationship problems

• Stress related to parenting

• Living with psychosis (hearing or seeing things others do not)

• Personality disorders

• Compulsive or impulsive behaviors

• Self-injurious behavior

• Suicidal thoughts and attempts

• Hoarding behaviors

How Problems Develop

I believe that all people want to be healthy, happy, and successful. Life, however, can be stressful or traumatic at times. We often cannot choose or change the stressors that life presents, and we respond to them as best we can. And with those life stressors we can experience roadblocks to our goals of health, happiness, and success. Those roadblocks can be overwhelming feelings that sap our energy, attention, motivation, or enjoyment. They can also be our own minds, racing with worries or difficult thoughts or memories that distract us and interfere with doing the things we want and need to do. They can also be the patterns of coping and interacting with others that we have developed over time. We develop these patterns for a reason: To protect ourselves, to succeed or get by in unhealthy environments, or to otherwise survive or get our needs met. But sometimes those patterns are no longer helpful in new environments or settings, with new people, or when we need more than just survival. I believe that, we can become “stuck” in our unhealthy, stressful situations or patterns, and that our suffering at those times is especially increased when we struggle to adjust to changing expectations or demands.

How I Can Help

My goal is to help you actually start living a life you want. I do this by helping you better understand what is happening in your life and how you got there. We explore your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to identify patterns and how these connect to your experiences. I help you clarify what you want and who you want to be in life. We then sort through your options to identify steps you can take to disrupt these patterns and get on the path to that healthier, happier, and more successful life.

I know how difficult these tasks can be. I believe warmth and empathy are crucial to building trust and creating a strong therapy relationship. I strive to be genuine and curious, I often use humor and am known to laugh loudly or make nerdy references, and will challenge you to consider new ways of thinking and behaving. Each treatment plan is unique and individualized to your needs and goals. Only you can define what you want, and I will use all of my skills to help you achieve those goals.

Change is hard. But so is staying the same when you are suffering. I look forward to helping you reduce that suffering and start living a life you want.

I have had specific training in DBT and ACT, and they are the cornerstone of my therapy work. I also have had training in systems models, which help to understand an individual’s experiences within the context of the systems (families, work settings, schools, communities, and cultures) in which they have grown or currently function. I integrate these with a relational approach to better understand how you interact with others and how to help you effectively implement changes in you relationships.

DBT and ACT

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) are “third-wave” cognitive-behavioral therapies. These approaches help us make change by re-thinking how we react and respond to our thoughts and emotions, to situations, and to other people. Together, we explore our beliefs and expectations for ourselves, others, and the world, and start to consider other ways of living. This lets us be more flexible and therefore more resilient, We may also develop strategies or skills for reducing stress and strengthening healthy coping and lifestyles. Both of these approaches utilize mindfulness techniques. Often we spend our energy anxious about the future or distressed about the past; mindfulness helps us keep our attention on being as effective as possible in the present. Both of these models stress the importance of how we live our lives, not just what we do in a therapy room.

Relational Approach

I also incorporate a relational approach to therapy. This means that I try to understand and address your patterns of relating to people. We will talk about your experiences of your past and current relationships to better understand what those patterns are, how they developed, and what function they serve. This includes looking at our therapy relationship. The therapy relationship is the foundation for the work we do together and impacts how we approach other treatment issues or goals. The therapy relationship can often reflect or offer a lens into your experiences outside the therapy room. As a result, I encourage openness to discussing our therapy relationship to help us better understand those patterns, your relationship needs, and how you want to manage your relationships.

Involving Others in Your Treatment