Welcome. I'm a clinical social worker licensed in Maryland and Pennsylvania. I also have a PhD in psychology, a clinical trauma certification, and am a 200-hr trained yoga instructor. My passion in life is to learn and understand things so that I can pass it on to others in a practical way to help improve lives and relationships.
What can clients expect to take away from sessions with you?
In our first session together, we'll get to know each other. You tell me about you. I'll tell you about me if you want me to. We'll go over what you're expecting from therapy and how we can get you there. We'll also talk about scheduling and expectations (confidentiality, attendance policy, etc.).
Explain to clients what areas you feel are your biggest strengths.
My special areas of focus are trauma, mindfulness, and romantic relationships. I strongly believe that everyone is searching for peace, safety, and comfort. For some of us, that's really hard to find. My strength as a therapist is listening to you and helping you to develop the insight and ability to create a life that you don't need to escape from. I am not your teacher, I don't give advice. We figure it out together.
About Kira Markoff, PhD, LCSW-C, CCTP, YTT200
Appointments
Virtual
My treatment methods
Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)
Our thoughts create our reality. In therapy, we practice how to recognize, challenge, and replace negative or distorted thoughts with more supportive thinking.
Trauma Informed Care
Five principles of trauma informed care include establishing a sense of safety, empowerment, collaboration, trust, and connection.
Daialectical Behavior (DBT)
DBT is all about skills. Learn mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance (managing crisis or high intensity situations), and interpersonal effectiveness (social) skills. DBT is a practical approach to reducing chaos and increasing personal power.
Mindfulness-Based Therapy
Mindfulness means 'being in remembrance'. In any moment, there are things to remember - I am safe, I have a body, my human body has needs, I am allowed to experience happiness AND be struggling with mental health, and the list goes on. One practical application of mindfulness practices is to be centered, grounded, balanced, and to increase mental clarity.
Mind-body approach
The brain is a body organ. Our thoughts are a product of body functioning. This is a critical foundation for mental health treatment. All healing is accomplished through connecting mind and body rather than separating them.
