Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)

I have extensive experience using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as a primary modality in treating depression, anxiety, trauma-related symptoms, emotional dysregulation, and maladaptive behavior patterns. My training and ongoing clinical work emphasize the core CBT principle that thoughts, emotions, and behaviors are interconnected, and that targeted interventions can meaningfully shift a client’s functioning. In practice, I use CBT in a highly collaborative and goal-oriented format. Early sessions focus on assessment and case conceptualization, identifying the specific cognitive and behavioral patterns contributing to the client’s distress. I integrate structured tools such as the PHQ-9, GAD-7, and functional-impairment measures to track symptom change and ensure our interventions remain responsive and measurable. During treatment, I incorporate cognitive restructuring, behavioral activation, exposure-based work when appropriate, and skills training that supports emotional regulation and distress tolerance. I help clients identify automatic thoughts, challenge cognitive distortions, and replace them with more accurate, balanced thinking. Alongside cognitive work, I use behavioral strategies to disrupt avoidance patterns, increase engagement in meaningful activities, and reinforce adaptive habits. Homework and between-session practice are central components, allowing clients to generalize new skills into real-world situations. I tailor assignments to each client’s clinical goals and readiness, reinforcing a sense of agency and self-efficacy. Throughout the process, I maintain a therapeutic stance that is validating, supportive, and forward-focused, helping clients build insight while equipping them with practical tools they can continue using long after treatment concludes. Overall, CBT allows me to deliver structured, evidence-based care while helping clients develop sustainable skills for symptom management, emotional stability, and improved daily functioning.

Motivational Interviewing

I have extensive experience using Motivational Interviewing (MI) as a client-centered, evidence-based approach to enhance motivation for change and strengthen treatment engagement. MI is especially effective in areas where ambivalence is prominent, including mood regulation, substance use, health behaviors, family dynamics, and patterns of avoidance or inconsistency. In my practice, I use MI to help clients clarify their internal motivations by exploring the discrepancy between their present behaviors and their long-term values. The approach is rooted in empathy, collaboration, and respect for client autonomy, creating a therapeutic environment where individuals feel safe examining ambivalence without judgment. During MI-focused sessions, I rely on core skills such as reflective listening, affirmations, open-ended questioning, and strategic summarizing (OARS). These interventions help clients articulate their concerns, identify barriers, and discover their own reasons for change rather than feeling pressured or directed. I use techniques like change talk elicitation, scaling questions, and decisional balance exercises to deepen insight and build momentum. MI is integrated throughout the treatment process rather than confined to a single stage. Early in treatment, it strengthens rapport and readiness. As therapy progresses, MI supports adherence to goals, fosters accountability, and reduces resistance to change. When clients feel stuck, overwhelmed, or uncertain, MI provides a structured yet flexible framework for re-engaging them with their strengths, values, and vision for their future. I also incorporate MI with other modalities, including CBT and DBT skills work. MI helps clients identify the intrinsic motivation needed to apply new coping strategies, follow through with behavioral activation, or implement boundary-setting and communication changes. This blended approach increases treatment adherence and leads to more sustainable outcomes. Overall, MI allows me to deliver respectful, collaborative care that honors the client’s autonomy while guiding them toward meaningful, value-driven change.

Strength-Based

I use a strengths-based framework throughout my clinical work to help clients identify, access, and expand the internal and external resources that support resilience and change. My experience with this approach is grounded in the belief that individuals come to therapy with existing competencies, values, and coping skills that can be leveraged to promote growth, healing, and improved functioning. In practice, I intentionally shift the focus from deficits and pathology to a balanced view that includes capacity, progress, and potential. Early in treatment, I explore a client’s prior successes, natural talents, cultural and relational resources, and the adaptive strategies they have used during previous challenges. This assessment helps create a collaborative case formulation rooted not only in symptoms but also in strengths that can be mobilized in service of their goals. Throughout treatment, I use reflective prompts and narrative techniques that highlight a client’s effort, perseverance, insight, and self-efficacy. I integrate strengths-based language to reinforce improvement in real time and to counteract internal narratives shaped by shame, trauma, or chronic self-criticism. When clients express hopelessness or self-doubt, I help them identify exceptions, abilities, and progress markers that often get overshadowed by distress. This approach is woven into various modalities I use, including CBT, MI, and trauma-informed care. For example, in CBT it strengthens engagement in behavioral activation by identifying meaningful values and prior positive experiences. In MI, it amplifies change talk by centering the client’s existing capacities and successes. In relational work, it supports boundary-setting, empowerment, and improved communication by reinforcing internal strengths already present but underutilized. A strengths-based lens fosters motivation, encourages autonomy, and promotes long-term resilience. Clients often report increased confidence, reduced self-stigma, and a clearer understanding of their ability to influence their own change process. This contributes to sustained improvement in functioning and greater engagement in treatment.