My Approach to Psychotherapy

I believe good and helpful psychotherapy can take multiple forms and that the process itself can look quite different depending on what a client or patient needs. A large piece of the initial phase of a therapy relationship with me will be determining what your needs are and how we might meet those. There is a reason therapists love the phrase “meet you where you’re at” - any therapy that tries to fit you and your presenting concerns into a rigid formula is likely destined to fail. Still, as I’ve written elsewhere, there are some consistencies to my practice. I believe that a fundamental and universal part of psychotherapy is the process of being honest with oneself - looking with honesty and openness at aspects of who you are, your history, and/or your relationships that you might not like or that you want to change. For most of us, this honesty is much easier said than done, and we can employ all kinds of techniques (some conscious and some not) to look away from ourselves. It is part of my job as a therapist to help you recognize the looking-away techniques you are using and to help you shift them, so we can engage in the more honest and open reflection and/or processing that will be at the heart of any psychotherapy. Together, you and I will set the pace for this and build your capacity to cope with the difficult emotions that may arise, as it is never my desire to overwhelm a client in this process.

When I write that I offer psychotherapy that honors each part of you, I am speaking to this ethic of looking honestly and openly even at the pieces you desire to turn away from. I am also speaking to my commitment to hold space and affirmation for pieces of your experience and identity that unfortunately might be met with bias or invalidation by others. Some folks seek out my services because of my experience with the trans community (which you can read a little about here); in addition, my practice is open to and affirming of all sexualities (including asexual individuals), relationship structures, gender presentations, sexual practices, ability/disability statuses and experiences, races, ethnicities, nationalities, economic backgrounds, educational levels, and body sizes. You deserve psychotherapy that honors every piece of you.

These days, psychotherapists often identify themselves according to the “type” of psychotherapy they offer, but I’m a little different. While I have been trained in various schools and methodologies of therapy (including CBT, ACT, trauma-focused, and psychodynamic approaches), I tend to integrate these styles to meet the specific needs of my work with individual patients and groups. As a piece of my integrative approach, I will often use a trauma-informed and feminist psychotherapy lens to understand what clients and patients are struggling with. This means I’m curious about how behaviors or symptoms that now trouble you may have first developed to protect or otherwise serve you. This is a less pathologizing approach than some diagnostic models. I’m especially drawn to a trauma framework when experiences of oppression are relevant, as I strongly believe that chronic oppression (including racist or other biased microaggressions, non-affirmation of gender identity, repeated inaccessibility and exclusion, and blatant bias/macroaggressions, etc.) have the potential to traumatize, and often individuals with these experiences are more affected by them than they are given social permission or full language for. I am also interested in investigating how societal expectations (e.g., of masculinity or femininity) shape your beliefs and behaviors and contribute to stress. Regardless of whether oppression, trauma, and/or societal expectations are relevant for you, I do believe that every person’s context and external relationships are relevant to their mental health and wellbeing. Please expect a balance between looking outside yourself and looking within yourself in our sessions, though the exact breakdown/mix of this will vary from client to client.

If you are curious about any of this or if this sounds like a set of approaches that would be helpful to you, contact me to schedule an initial session or to schedule a no-cost 20-minute consultation.