psychotherapy

Psychotherapy, sometimes called counseling, literally means mind/spirit healing. It is what one typically imagines when they think of therapy. What it actually looks like can vary significantly between therapists and approaches. I refer to psychotherapy as the talking relationship between the therapist and client that aims to improve the client's mental, interpersonal, and social functioning. It offers a safe and trusting environment that is free from blame, judgement, and expectation whereby the client can express and explore their deepest lows, shadows, excitements, confusions, fears, quirks, and creativity.

My style of therapy blends elements of several different therapy approaches, enabling me to tailor treatment specifically to each client's needs. No two people are the same and what works for one person may not work for another. Offering a flexible treatment plan gives you, the client, the ability to voice what does and does not work for you so that you can get more out of your experience. The different approaches to psychotherapy that I typically utilize the most with my clients include EMDR, Narrative, Gestalt, Psychodynamic, and Solution-focused. These approaches not only offer deep insight into why you think, feel, and behave the way that you do, but offer outlets by which you can move forward in your life with more clarity, joy, and confidence.

EMDR - link to EMDR page

Narrative - We all have common narratives or stories by which we live our life and perceive the world around us. Living within social norms is a good example of this premise. Sometimes, the story that we are trying to live according to doesn't really make sense or coincide with our personal beliefs. Continuing to fit a square peg into a round hole will become stressful and exhausting, which leads to psychological distress. Narrative therapy views the problem as the problem rather than a problem with the client so it naturally feels more positive. It examines the origins of our narratives, challenges the ones that don't make sense according to our individual beliefs, and enhances the ones that make sense or feel good to the individual. 

Gestalt - Focuses on helping the client become more self-aware of their thoughts and feelings, and accept them as purposeful to their life situation. Based on the premise that we all think and feel the way we do for a reason, and all those reasons are valid whether we realize it or not. Learning to trust those feelings and focus on the present moment, rather than the future or what happened in the past, will naturally alleviate our stress. This type of therapy may help a client recognize and trust their own voice, especially if that voice has been suppressed or invalidated.

Psychodynamic - Examines early life experiences as a window into seeing why we are the way we are. No, it's not that all of our problems are our parents' fault, but many of them have roots in the way we learned from and perceived those early relationships and attachments. By taking a deeper look into our earlier experiences, we can learn to recognize and better understand the way we think and act the way we do. With this new understanding, the client can learn to recognize triggers and defense mechanisms they may have developed during this earlier time but are no longer helping them, and learn to shift them into something that feels better.  

Solution-Focused - Focuses less on the whys and hows of how we became who we are, and more on how we can get to where we want to be. Some people come into therapy with a very clear vision of where they have been and where they want to be and they need help in getting there. Solution-focused offers a goal-oriented therapy through identification and reinforcement of the client's resources, skills, and abilities.