Treatment Philosophy

I find it is essential to take a holistic approach that addresses every unique dimension of the individual. Many of us struggle with very similar patterns and yet each occurs in a unique context. The fact that the same symptom can originate in ten different places for ten different people requires a flexible, tailored approach to treatment. I believe that we stand the best chance of understanding the origins of our distress when we can explore the many factors that contribute to it within a safe and accepting relationship that fosters an attitude of gentle curiosity. Understanding the root of our discomfort is important but often not sufficient in finding its resolution.  

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From my perspective, psychotherapy engages individuals in growth through simultaneous top down and bottom up processes. Top down growth can be understood as developing insight and awareness that allows us to become more skillful about our behavioral choices, or more compassionate toward self when observing behavior from a grounded sense of self and one's needs. Bottom up growth can be understood as the result of being engaged in an emotionally reparative therapeutic relationship. Many of us struggle with painful feelings that can be traced to relational trauma, and recurring patterns of social difficulty.  I draw heavily on theoretical approaches that appreciate therapy as an opportunity to participate in a corrective relational experience. The therapeutic relationship provides a rich source of information for understanding a person's relational style, how it works in getting one's relational needs met, and how it might not. Therapy provides an exciting opportunity to practice new ways of relating or embodying a new dimension of self with a level of safety that often doesn't exist in other relationships.