LMFT, 18 years of experience
Welcome! I am Reina Michelle, a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in working with young adults who have depression, anxiety, and mood disorders. These disorders are difficult mental health problems that hurt many young people and get in the way of their living happier and healthier lives. I have helped people with Bipolar, OCD, and Panic Disorders using CBT, Psychodynamic, Solution Focused Therapy, and DBT among others. These disorders can cause disruptions with partners, family, and friends. Additionally, I teach John Gottman's communication skills to help clients bring understanding into their relationships and troubled marriages. The ability to speak freely, honestly, and from the heart is an important tool in developing strong connections. I became licensed with a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology from JFK University in San Jose, CA, in 2010. Life is too precious to put off your happiness and well-being any longer. Helping you to succeed in overcoming mental health challenges and developing healthy communication skills is my goal and it is an honor to meet you.
In our first session we will discuss the issues that bring you to therapy and discuss your goals for treatment. It is important to take a look at one's family history initially to see how it may have led to problems that many people are having today. I offer clients different perspectives in looking at their problems with understanding and the utmost respect for your feelings. I sincerely want to help you to resolve conflicts in your lives.
I have had training in teaching "mindfulness" skills to bring calmness into the lives of busy people. I am certificated in DBT to better help people who have anxiety, depression, and mood disorders. We are not all alike and using a combination of targeted methods can help make a difference in younger people's lives. My years of experience have taught me to listen carefully to my clients in order to help you thrive.
I work with younger "individuals" between the ages of 18-38 years old finding this group open-minded and ready to work on themselves to make positive changes in their lives. I have had success in helping men to learn better ways to express themselves and sustain better relationships. This can be beneficial in helping troubled marriages. There are tools that can be learned to help you. All it takes is practice using these to improve your life.
I have completed an extensive training course and have earned certification in DBT. It was originally designed for Borderline Personality patients and then was recognized as a valuable way to help people with anxiety, depression, mood disorders, and many others. It is based on combining Mindfulness Training with CBT and and is highly regarded for its effectiveness in assisting people to obtain their goals.
I use CBT when it is beneficial for the client. CBT is based on the idea that how we think (cognition), how we feel (emotion) and how we act (behavior) all interact together. Specifically, our thoughts determine our feelings and our behavior. It is useful in helping people with many kinds of problems such as anxiety, depression, and many others.
I received additional training from my master's program at JFK University in Campbell, CA. to help people with issues resulting from attachment disorder from childhood experiences where there was a lack of connection between parent and child relationships that has caused problems.
Person-centered therapy also known as Rogerian therapy can assist people in finding solutions to their problems. The therapist is supportive in this model but non-authoritative, and the client takes the lead in each session. The therapist's expertise is secondary to the client's ability to solve their own problems. The therapists job is to collaborate, empathize, and help you to make better choices in your life's decisions. You know yourself better than anyone else does and we are here to support you.
Solution Focused Brief Therapy is for clients that want to look forward and not back into their history. Clients looking for a quick help method in solving their issues or in conjunction with other methodologies. It can be useful and effective.