Mental Health Therapy

I offer two types of therapy: individual therapy and couples counseling. As a licensed and trained mental health counselor, I help you identify and work through factors that may be causing you mental or emotional illness. Therapy will help you understand your emotions, behaviors, and the thoughts that contribute to your condition. You will be able to regain a feeling of control and pleasure in life. In addition, you will also learn coping techniques and problem solving skills while attaining a deeper understanding of your emotions.

Therapy works best when you attend all of your scheduled appointments. I ask that you prepare to meet with me on a weekly basis for at least five weeks in a row, after which I will evaluate how often you should continue to come in. Therapy requires your active involvement. It requires your time, effort, and regular attendance. 

During the complimentary initial consultation, we will discuss your reasons for seeking therapy as well as any specific goals you would like to establish. Feel free to ask me any questions you might have about my approach and how therapy will work for you. Mental health therapy is a treatment that addresses your specific cause of mental illness. Counseling is not a "quick fix." Although therapy takes longer to work than medication, there is evidence to suggest that its effects last longer.

Psychological Theories I Specialize In

Three psychological theories I specialize in and typically use during individual counseling sessions are the psychodynamic, cognitive, and mindfulness theories. However, I believe that an integrative approach to counseling works best. I typically borrow ideas and methods from other theories that are appropriate to a client's situation.

Psychodynamic Therapy 

Psychodynamic therapy helps to gain insight into a problem or situation. For example, there may be a general pattern in your life – similar issues that seem to keep popping up. Oftentimes, as human beings, we face the same type of problems over and over again, even if we move to a different city or start socializing with different people. With psychodynamic therapy, we review the pattern to determine if there is/was a triggering event (to the current situation), or if the issue is connected to someone or something from your past. Psychodynamic therapy can help you break this pattern and/or move past a problem after seeing it clearly and meeting it head-on.

Cognitive Therapy 

Cognitive therapy is focused on a client's thoughts and beliefs. If you can develop mastery and control over your thoughts, then you can learn to deliberately choose the feelings and thoughts you would like to experience. Cognitive theory states that emotions always follow thoughts; it is never the other way around. Your emotions are strong indicators of whether your thoughts are healthy or unhealthy. If a good feeling follows a thought, then you are right on course. If you feel a negative emotion such as anger, frustration, grief, or depression, then you need to reach for a different thought that creates a feeling of relief. Cognitive therapy is very deliberate and scientific, and usually works best with clients who are not consumed with negative emotions.

Mindfulness Therapy

Along with traditional therapy, I offer counseling based on mindfulness techniques and a healthy non-attachment to the ego. For example, mindfulness therapy teaches you how to "watch" your thoughts – and to create a healthy distance between these thoughts and your core self. The ego – or our inner dialogue – is at times a masterful puppeteer, pulling us in directions not of our own choosing. Practicing techniques from mindfulness therapy will help you to cut the strings of the puppeteer, thereby giving you deliberate control over your reality.