As a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist, my personal mission is to help clients reach wholeness and fulfill their potential within their relationships. With over 20 years of experience, I offer individualized support and practical feedback in an accepting, comfortable and safe environment to help clients move forward toward renewed mental health, growth and overall wellness. The therapy that I practice is done from a psychodynamic perspective. Within this framework, I practice various techniques to deepen the therapy process including Cognitive Behavioral and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Emotionally Focused Therapy.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
I will offer each client individualized support focused on what issues you may be coming to therapy for that you'd like to have support with. I will go over your intake paperwork with you to get to know you better and give you some practical feedback of how I can help you with the immediate and long-term goals you have for yourself. I strive to create an accepting, comfortable and safe environment, where we take things at your own pace as I am there to listen and understand you.
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
I believe in a holistic approach to recovery by treating the whole person, including fostering emotional, spiritual and physical health. I am as committed to your recovery as you are and will walk alongside you through the difficulties you are facing. You are not alone. I do make myself available for crisis phone contact or sessions as needed. I understand that life is happening 24/7 outside of the therapy room, and very challenging situations may come up. I believe a supportive phone call can remind you of the progress you have already made by committing to therapy, and the life goals you want to stay focused on.
Describe the client(s) you are best positioned to serve.
Are you struggling with worries about the future? Do you constantly feel that you aren't good enough? Do you often worry about what other people think of you? Join me in a structured and supportive setting to motivate and inspire you to learn cognitive behavioral therapy skills for anxiety: Coping with Anxiety & Panic Attacks, Relaxation/Meditation Skills, and Lifestyle Changes/Exercise/Nutrition.
About Nicole Ferrari
Nicole Ferrari offers therapy covered by CalViva Health (Medi-Cal), Community Health Plan of Imperial Valley (Medi-Cal) and Health Net (Medi-Cal) in California.
Specializes in
Licensed in
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VirtualMy treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Cognitive-behavioral therapy stresses the role of thinking in how we feel and what we do. It is based on the belief that thoughts, rather than people or events, cause our negative feelings. I assist each client in identifying, testing the reality of, and correcting dysfunctional beliefs underlying his or her thinking. I then help each client modify those thoughts and the behaviors that flow from them. CBT is a structured collaboration between therapist and client and often calls for homework assignments, which I will recommend working on between sessions. CBT has been clinically proven to help clients in a relatively short amount of time with a wide range of disorders, including depression and anxiety.
Dialectical Behavior (DBT)
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is the treatment most closely associated with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). Therapists practice DBT in both individual and group sessions, and while I offer individual sessions to process and practice skills, I would also recommend my client to attend a DBT group therapy weekly, if possible, for additional skills treatment. The therapy combines elements of CBT to help with regulating emotion through distress tolerance and mindfulness. I assist clients achieve the main goals of Dialectric Behavior Therapy, which are to improve interpersonal skills and the quality of relationships, and to alleviate the intense emotional pain associated with BPD.
Psychodynamic
Psychodynamic therapy, also known as insight-oriented therapy, evolved from Freudian psychoanalysis. Like adherents of psychoanalysis, psychodynamic therapists believe that bringing the unconscious into conscious awareness promotes insight and resolves conflict. But the psychodynamic therapy I do is briefer and less intensive than psychoanalysis and also focuses on the relationship between the therapist (myself) and the client, as a way to learn about how the client relates to everyone in their life. I provide a nonjudgmental space for clients to gain insight into their behaviors and understand how to make more intentional positive choices that help them reach desired life goals!