My philosophy and approach have been formulated by my professional experiences in the field. I seek to create a nurturing and compassionate environment where clients feel safe and supported as they deal with the many difficulties of life. I genuinely consider it an honor that people come to me and trust me with the most painful aspects of their lives. Clients often tell me I’m “easy to talk to” or that they “never thought they would talk to someone about this.” I’m grateful to travel this portion of the road of life with them and consider it a privilege. Whether my clients need help to sort out a difficult decision, a work situation, something more challenging from childhood, or marital difficulties, my goal is to honor and respect each individual’s struggle. To that end I’ve found Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, pronounced “act”) to be extremely effective. I’ve adopted this powerful form of therapy as my primary approach to working with clients.
I think my philosophy is best summed up by a quote attributed to Plato:
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.”
My Clients
In my practice I work with both individuals and couples. I have also had success working with adolescents who may be struggling with anxiety and/or other stress related issues. Teens seem to naturally “get” mindfulness and the ACT model as it’s very much focused in the present of one’s life. As a result, they feel less like they’re going to have to talk about something private or embarrassing. I also enjoy working with LGBTQ individuals and couples. It’s important to me that anyone who walks through my door feels safe and accepted, in an environment that honors who they are, just as they are.
I have found ACT to be extremely effective in treating depression, anxiety, anger and other stress related struggles, including physical pain and loss. I especially enjoy using this model with couples as it doesn’t seek to blame, label or “point fingers” at an individual, focusing more on helping individuals discover and engage with their own core values in the relationship. This tends to defuse the “he said, she said” focus couples can fall into so easily.
If you’d like to contact me, you can reach me here and I will get back to you as soon as possible.