My therapeutic approach starts with creating trust in a warm and nurturing environment. You are the expert on you. Comfort creates openness to be vulernable and enables us to begin our process of change. I see my role as a reflective listener, gentle guider, relationship builder and transparent empathizer. I refrain from prescriptive, top-down approaches and seek understanding and most importantly—authenticity.
Authenticity, is one of those oft overused words (like “spirituality” and “love”) whose meaning can be diminished if not put into proper context. I strive to find true connection through verbal, nonverbal and at times aesthetic sources of a symbolic nature that best relays one’s inner core thoughts, feelings, and motivations in THAT moment of time in order to seek a deeper and more meaningful understanding of one’s conscious and unconscious processes and past. One’s perception of being authentic is not static, as we learn about ourselves we uncover truth and meaning that can fundamentally change how we perceive ourselves, and in turn who we really are.
I draw from a wide variety of therapeutic approaches, although most prominently align with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)—more specifically Radically Open Dialectical Behavior Therapy (RODBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). I also incorporate pyschodynamic, existential and Feminist perspectives into my approach and process.
I believe that each person draws meaning and inspiration from sources of connection that hold great power in helping to stimulate positive growth. The philosopher Heidegger spoke of two types of existence: the everyday mode beset by modern life stressors and how things work in the world and the ontological mode which is focused on being and observing the wonders of the world. I seek to help uncover, derive meaning from and harness the power of the ontological state of mind to create internal and external connections that inspire hope, insight, discovery and change.