First Appointment
Your first appointment will involve a formal evaluation so that I may get the information I need in order to best help you. This will take 55 minutes, and intake paperwork is required to be complete 24 hours prior to the appointment, or your appointment will be cancelled. Length of appointments thereafter will be 45 minutes. I will send you the intake paperwork in my confidential client portal, and an e-mail will be sent to you to get started. All of the paperwork should be completed online (do not print out).
Specialties
Advanced Accelerated Resolution Therapy Provider
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) is an elegant therapeutic system that takes the best elements of existing therapies like Gestalt, Cognitive Behavioral, Narrative, Exposure (imaginal, in-vivo), relaxation techniques, and Brief Psycho-dynamic therapy and places them into a directive protocol which utilizes eye movements similar to those found in the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) phase of sleep. ART targets unresolved emotions and experiences which are stored differently and allows the brain to safely and effectively relieve distressing body sensations and restore images of past experiences properly to reduce distress. ART includes the science of memory reconsolidation and provides a re-scripting process called Voluntary Image Replacement (VIR) to assist clients in rapidly moving beyond trauma. Ultimately, this process brings great relief for people suffering from PTSD, anxiety, depression, and other mental health concerns.
(Rosenzweig, Hernandez, Long, & Street, 2021)
Substance Abuse
While I do use evidence based treatment interventions (CBT, etc.), I also tailor the therapeutic experience to an individual’s own story or timeline. A complex history has brought us together, so we may need some time to unpack the narrative.
Aside from substance abuse abstinence only based approaches, I do offer harm reduction interventions for those who feel that total abstinence is unattainable or unreasonable. With harm reduction, safety, health, relationships and overall functioning inform client treatment goals.
For additional information or support: https://www.drugabuse.gov/
Life Transitions: (Adolescence, Adulthood, Retirement)
Change can be awkward and sometimes really difficult, especially change we did not choose. As humans, we are sometimes thrust into change that we are not fully prepared for. Often, we have expectations about the expected changes ahead and these do not always unfold as we had hoped or planned. Whether it is situational, emotional, developmental, physical or existential, we are often surprised and sometimes angry with changes that come our way. Crisis often accompanies change.
Growing up, entering adulthood, becoming a parent, moving towards retirement, these are changes that are mostly inevitable or at least expected in our culture. Each transition mentioned comes with a set of new concerns or sometimes even major problems. Inability to “successfully” manage expected transitions also creates feelings of inadequacy, disappointment and even despair.
Personal and societal assumptions have created a culture whereby an individual is often not sufficiently supported through major life changes. Adolescence is a time that comes with expected change, but limited tolerance for major mistakes. Becoming a “productive adult” is almost impossible without the long term support and collaboration from adults who believe in us. Parenting is supposed to come naturally? What if it doesn’t, then what? Retirement years are the “golden years”. What if financial limitations, physical health issues or grief and loss do not support that societal narrative?
Comparing our personal life transitions to those around us is futile and occasionally disheartening. We each have our own timeline, it doesn’t always match up with expectations.
I enjoy working with all ages, all individuals who are examining and exploring the beautiful and sometimes frightening transitions that find us during our lifetimes. Let’s dig into your story together and uncover some gems!