My Psychotherapy Treatment Methods

Traditional Talk Therapy
One of the most powerful and healing methods I use in my psychotherapy is creating a mutually respectful, collaborative, and caring relationship with my clients. This relationship enables us to talk about, explore, and process any experiences or feelings, which fosters insight, healing, transformation, and growth. For more information on the model that informs how I employ Talk Therapy see David Wallin’s Attachment in Psychotherapy.

Internal Parts Work
Another powerfully healing method I use is Richard C. Schwartz’s Internal Family Systems Model. This method is premised on the understanding that we’re all multidimensional, i.e., we all have subpersonalities or parts that carry different beliefs, memories, feelings, and ways of reacting and behaving. Facilitating internal dialogues with my clients’ subpersonalities is a way of doing deep, healing, and transforming work. This model provides a mechanism to heal and unburden so that different reactions no longer take over or flood you with extreme feelings or behaviors. For more information on the Internal Family Systems model see Richard C. Schwartz’s Introduction to the Internal Family Systems Model.

Somatic Work
Our bodies have their own physical memories of emotional or traumatic experiences and as a result can hold a lot of pain, and cause us to experience previously programmed reactions and responses. I guide clients in using their body experience as a path to healing by attuning to how feelings and memories are held in their bodies. Attunement enables moving beyond intellectual understanding to not only get information and gain insight from their somatic experience, but also to resolve old body-scripted feelings and responses. For more information on this experiential, efficient way of healing see Peter Levine’s In An Unspoken Voice or visit Somatic Experiencing.

My work is informed by Attachment Theory, Developmental Theory (Object Relations, Self Psychology, and Relational Psychology), Internal Family Systems Theory, Somatic Experiencing, as well as by Pia Mellody’s treatment model for Developmental Maturity. My work with couples is further informed by Sue Johnson’s Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy, Terry Real’s treatment model for Relational Living, John Gottman’s Research-based couples counseling model, and Stan Tatkin’s Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy, all of which I’ve received training in.