Most of my 30-year counseling career has been spent treating active-duty service members for both behavioral health and substance use issues. My theoretical training began with Solution Focused Brief Therapy. I continue to follow the “lead from behind” approach. This basically means my job is to assist the client to define their own goals and the paths to those goals using their belief system and values. My training has included Motivational Interviewing, Stages of Change, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, EMDR, Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure therapy (PE). I treat depression, anxiety, PTSD, grief and loss, addiction.
The first session will be the time I will learn what you are looking for from therapy and you will learn my approach to therapy. It is where we will begin the journey of building trust. Both of us will be answering questions and seeing if we are a good fit.
My strength as a provider is I am a straight shooter. I take what you tell me as truth and that is what I give back. I will be up front about my thoughts and suggestions. Your input is the most important part of the therapy so I ask questions on a consistent basis. Questions such as "Does this sound like it will work for you." If it doesn't then we search for another way to accomplish your goal. Because of this most clients find they trust me quickly in the process.
I have used this to treat many types of anxiety, depression and addiction issues
I used EMDR with my trauma clients and continue to use parts of it in my virtual sessions for grounding techniques.
This is my preferred method when dealing with addiction issues. It empowers the client.