Through my virtual practice, I provide individual and couples therapy to adults, as well as clinical supervision to licensed new-career psychologists and social workers.
My approach is psychodynamic, with an emphasis on relational self psychology. What this means is that I believe that healing and growth occur through an exploration of thoughts, feelings, bodily felt sensations that hold one’s feelings, coping styles, behavioral patterns and many other aspects of one’s self and the therapeutic relationship. I believe that therapy is a co-created (relational) experience, one that is built by both patient and therapist and that is focused on promoting the patient’s well being and development of self. Sometimes, growth gets derailed by life’s difficulties and challenges; self psychology focuses on nudging thwarted development back on track.
When working with individuals, I focus on exploring your thoughts and feelings both in your current life and in your past, as well as in real-time in the therapeutic setting. I want to know and understand you, and I want to guide you towards knowing and understanding yourself in ways that go beyond your current self concept, which may, in fact, be quite limiting. I want to help you connect with your feelings, which are sometimes hiding behind old and outdated defensive styles that no longer serve you and, in fact, may be getting in the way of your living a more satisfying life. I want therapy to help you expand your way of seeing yourself and your potential in the world and, of course, to alleviate the suffering that comes from anxiety, depression, loss, self-doubt, indecision, feeling stuck, relationship and career uncertainties, life transitions and all the many things we humans struggle with during the course of a lifetime.
I will incorporate cognitive-behavioral, mindfulness and experiential approaches into a psychodynamic frame, always maintaining the primacy of creating meaningful emotional experience, and authenticity, in our work. Additionally, I will offer guidance for difficult situations and strategies for solving problems in daily life.
When working with couples, I focus on helping you understand the deeper meanings behind communications that just don’t work. Often, couples get stuck in communication patterns that do not serve the emotional health of the couple. When partners try to prove themselves right, blame the other person, or sidestep responsibility they are focusing on winning the argument rather than on restoring trust and intimacy in the relationship. I try to help couples move away from their outdated and defensive patterns to develop new pathways towards relational satisfaction. I assure you that starting couples therapy is not an admission of failure but a giant step towards potentially building relational safety and understanding.
When working with early-career supervisees, my main objective is to help you develop a therapeutic style that feels right for you. I believe we work best within a theoretical framework that is consistent with our values and beliefs as human beings. And we need to rely on our own momentary emotional and cognitive shifts when working with our patients. To do this, we need to feel comfortable within ourselves, and not preoccupied with what we think we should be doing. Thus, I want the supervisory experience to be comfortable for you, to enhance comfort within yourself and with your patients. I want it to be a non-judgmental, non-critical space in which to grow your clinical skills.
When working with individuals, couples and supervisees, I try to facilitate a healthy expression of humor. It’s good to laugh at ourselves and the human condition at times, and make room for surprise and spontaneity in our sessions.