(he/him)
I am a licensed mental health counselor in New York state and have been practicing in various settings for over 10-years. I have varied experiencing providing treatment in special education, inpatient, clinic, community-based program, and managed care.
The first therapy session will focus on us getting to know each other. I want to understanding why you are seeking out therapy and what you hope to achieve. Completing the intake assessment prior to the first session can help speed up this process. In addition, I welcome any questions you may have about my past professional experiences and my treatment approaches so you can make the best informed decision if my approach and qualities are a good fit for you to attain your goals.
While I utilize several different approaches to therapy, these may be helpful to a certain extent. My strengths compliment these approaches as I will ask a lot of questions. I want to understand your perspective, thoughts, and behaviors. I like to explore your thoughts, beliefs and decisions as many times, this is where you may experience your "ah-ha" moment where you learn something new about yourself you previously did not recognize.
A majority of my professional experience has been treating adults aged 18 - 65. I do have years of experience proving treatment to adolescents, though, I will not be accepting referrals for anyone under age 18.
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
I have been utilizing this approach for over 10-years and is a widely used treatment approach to address anxiety, mood disorders, substance use, and serious mental illness. CBT is one of the very few approaches with scientific evidence to support its effectiveness. Through this approach, we will identify your current thinking patterns and learned behaviors so we can approach and respond to future challenges differently.
Motivational Interviewing
Motivational interviewing is another scientific based treatment approach I use when you may have mixed feelings or feel unmotivated about making changes in life. I have often used this approach when addressing substance use, physical health conditions, and behaviors. Change is possible and through motivational interviewing, I will help you explore problems and solutions related to change.
Positive Psychology
I love positive psychology! Despite this, positive psychology may not be suitable in all situations. This approach focuses on overall life satisfaction. We will explore your strengths and learn how to incorporate them into your daily life. While there may be a strong focus on happiness, this does not mean we will disregard negative emotions. With identifying and strengthening our... well, strengths, we will work together to identify purpose and meaning in your life to promote overall life satisfaction.
Solution Focused Brief Treatment
Much like positive psychology, solution focused therapy is an important treatment approach, but is not applicable in all situations. As the name suggests, the goal here is to identify solutions to current problems in a short number of sessions. This approach is very beneficial if you have identified a problem or concern in life and have a general idea on what needs to change. Unlike more traditional approaches, like CBT, there is not much focus on your past life experiences. Depending on the frequency of your sessions, you may complete treatment between four to ten sessions.