LMHC, 39 years of experience
I am a marital, family and individual psychotherapist who has enjoyed working with couples who are struggling in relationships. I use John Gottman and Sue Johnson theories in my work to help them understand their unhealthy patterns of communication and how they can change those patterns to increase their emotional intimacy. CBT and DBT are other major treatment modalities that I utilize to assist individuals who are struggling with anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and trauma. Clients feel empowered walking out of sessions with practical tools they can utilize in between sessions and this gives them hope that their lives can be improved, their relationships can be changed for the better, and their communication more effective in their day to day relationships.
The first session is generally focused on obtaining a full and complete history, inquiring about family of origin history and dynamics, schooling history, young adult education, social history, drug, alcohol, substance abuse history, legal history and current and recent past day to day functioning (sleep, appetite, mood issues, suicidal history (if any), psychotic symptoms, past hospitalization, abuse history, medical history, current medications, name of psychiatrist (if applicable), and client's perception of what they believe they require the most help with.
My strengths are my years of experience as a psychotherapist and my empathy and compassion with those who are suffering or struggling in a particular area of their life.
Clients with a diagnosis of Bipolar Dis, those with OCD issues who may require Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) treatment, Trichotillomania or skin-picking clients, or clients with histories of trauma. I also work with couples and families (see above), and those who struggle with anxiety or depression.
CBT is a widely used treatment method to assist clients to understand how their negative thought patterns my influence how they feel. By using techniques such as thought stopping, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation, clients can begin to mange their anxiety, depression, or irritability, resulting in happier, less-stressed living.
Polyvagal therapy helps clients to understand their central nervous system by recognizing that stressful, difficult situations may result in the client feeling overwhelmed in fight or flight sympathetic state. Gently guiding the client to relax their nervous system by slipping into fight or flight and then, the dorsal state of immobilization can help them to learn to tolerate the discomfort (if only briefly) and then allowing themselves to return to sympathetic or ventral (safe) state.