LP, 19 years of experience
Note: Book with me with the understanding that I am relocated to Arkansas, but maintaining my California license to see California patients virtually Hi, I'm Sharifa. Do you find yourself wishing you could set better boundaries in your relationships with other people? Or want to prioritize yourself and your own needs, but find that others' demands, guilt, or depression get in the way? I empower people who have suffered from non-reciprocal relationships and self-neglecting patterns to break the script of self-sacrifice. Together, we can address your past relational dynamics, and the depression and anxiety that keeps you stuck. I use a plethora of clinical tools based on clients' needs but generally work from a psychodynamic, trauma-informed, and solution-focused perspective. Entering psychotherapy can be daunting, but I am here to provide a supportive and helpful space where you can work to close the gap between the life you wish for in your head, and the one you're living now. I'd love to work with you!
Our initial appointment services as an intake assessment, where I will meet you and begin the process of learning more about you and your therapy needs. I will practice policies and ethical matters, such as the limits of confidentiality. I always make time to hear more from you and answer your questions as well.
My first method is to get a solid history in a clinical interview at the outset. I love the exploratory toolkit that psychodynamic psychotherapy provides in treatment planning and interventions. In therapy I like to use processing, exploration of defenses, CBT tools such as exploration of cognitive style and schemas/beliefs, and communication, time management, and social skills training. I find that I enjoy using psycho-education in a practical, but also reparative way: often clients benefit from having aspects of their experience explained in new ways. Session-by-session, I focus on the treatment goals, but also the concerns that come up week-by-week.
My training and experience is a a generalist, but I'd say my niche is working with clients on boundary-setting and prioritizing themselves, including people who have the experience of being a late social bloomer (including related mild social anxiety or depression).
Clients who want to work on setting better interpersonal boundaries and clients with depression or stress.