Welcome! My name is Ryan Rathman and I am a Licensed Professional Counselor in the State of New Jersey. For the last 11 years I have been working with individuals who have experienced trauma in the early years of their lives. In this work I have helped individuals weaken the chains of trauma in order to help them begin to guide their lives back towards safety, joy, and fulfilment. As a trauma-informed therapist my primary goal is to help you feel safe again, and create a more efficient capacity to feel safe on a regular basis. While my work has primarily been with trauma survivors, often times this has also involved assisting with symptoms of depression, anxiety, anger, mood swings, irritability, substance use, and many more. Regardless of the difficulties you are experiencing, our goal in working together is to empower you to have greater control over your life, guiding it towards the ideal future that you see for yourself. To speak more about myself personally, I received my Master's Degree in the great city of Pittsburgh! While there, I also became a husband and a cat-dad to my two rescue babies, Juni and Pep, who may or may not grace us with their presence during session. When I am not aiming to create more peace and joy on this earth through my clinical work, I often spend time doing various nerdy things like playing video games or tabletop games, binging sci-fi shows, or coming up with weird new dinner recipes. If you think that I might be a good fit as your therapist, schedule a session and let's dive in!
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first session together we will start with introductions and identifying what brought you to therapy. From there I will briefly explain more about my approach to counseling and what you can expect from this experience. We will spend time working together to define what goals you may want to achieve throughout your therapy journey. If you would like more tools for tracking progress during this journey, you may opt to complete short assessments related to symptoms you may be experiencing. If desired, the first session will also include a brief introduction to mindfulness concepts and practices. All sessions can include upon request a guided meditation tailored to your current hardships.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
Over the course of working with trauma survivors for 11 years, I have developed a robust understanding of how horrific life experiences can impact the mind and body's development into adulthood. Having helped victims of trauma for over a decade, I enter into this work with a deep sense of empathy for any individual who aims to overcome the pain that has been caused to them. I approach this work with a unique perspective grounded in modern neuroscience. We will explore how your life experiences may have impacted your neurological functioning and develop strategies that leverage neuroplasticity towards creating lasting safety and joy in your life.
About Ryan Rathman
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Attachment-based
Attachment disruptions in the early years of life can create difficulties in relationships going into adulthood. My approach in this regard is to leverage what we know about the human oxytocin system in order to explore the early messages you received from caregivers about love, connection, and trust.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
In this work we will explore the core beliefs that you have created about the world around you. In identifying these beliefs, we will then work together to find any distorted logic within them that might be causing you hardship. Once we begin altering distorted logic, we then aim to help you create behavioral changes that support your healthier outlook on life.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
In using the theory and practice of DBT we aim to create radical acceptance of ourselves. Being a human being can be extremely challenging and can often bring up confusing and, at times, competing emotions. In this work, we aim to develop a greater capacity to sit with emotional discomfort. Together we will work to help you build the skills necessary to welcome in all emotions, without allowing them overwhelm you or dictate the choices you make.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
In our work together, we will aim to ground ourselves in curiosity about our lived experience. We will explore how neuroscience can begin to give insight into our daily hardships and how we can harness this knowledge to overcome our neurological programming. One of the most powerful tools for overcoming our physiology is mindfulness. Early sessions may include mindfulness coaching and education. Once the basics of mindfulness have been learned, all future sessions can include, at your request, a personally-tailored guided meditation related to your current hardships and treatment goals.
Trauma Informed Care
We are all a collection of our various life experiences, both positive and negative. However, sometimes we encounter negative experiences that leave a lasting impression on not just our thoughts and emotions, but also our physiology. Having worked with trauma survivors for over a decade, my approach to therapy is deeply seated in compassion and understanding. We will aim to create a safe and secure environment for you to explore how these life experiences might be affecting your capability to experience joy and feel safe in the present. We will assist you in breaking free from the chains of trauma, to take better control over your life and your future. You are NOT defined by the things that have happened to you.