Expertise, designed around you.
Psychotherapy
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
CBT is an approach that invites us to consider the ways we think and respond to situations. It is a highly evidence-based approach that I have extensive experience in for issues such as anxiety, depression and other mood disturbance. CBT can be highly structured, so I tend to use it as needed in more flexible way – drawing on it as needed when it would help the client. CBT can be the primary approach or used as a therapy tool that can be applied flexibly as need to issues. CBT is seen as a useful approach for anxiety and anxiety disorders (such as OCD), depression and in some cases of eating disorders.
Trauma-informed Therapy
Trauma informed care is a style of therapy approach that recognizes how the nervous system is affected by trauma. When I draw on this approach it is to be conscious of the ways that talking about a trauma might be traumatic, even in therapy. This approach can be useful for people affected by single traumatic events or those affected by complex, sustained trauma. Trauma informed therapy really encompasses several approaches that are used with a greater degree of awareness into the ways our nervous system helps us to regulate. Some of ways of regulating are what drives us to therapy in the first place. They may not make sense at first and feel problematic. But numbing, detaching, being busy, trying to be perfect can all be attempts to feel safe when overwhelmed. In sessions, I support clients to begin to understand patterns that have helped them to regulate and discover new ways to create a sense of safety within themselves.
Somatic and Mindfulness-based Therapy
Somatic and Mindfulness-based Therapies are approaches that help us to observe events within us and respond in healthy ways. Somatic is a word that refers to ‘body’ and Somatic therapy is an approach that uses a awareness of physical states to unlock new ways to cope and heal. I draw on somatic approaches for trauma, body image disturbance, eating disorders, anger management and relationship issues. Somatic approaches form the basis for a deeper understanding of triggering situations which aids in gaining freedom over habitual responses.
My experience with Mindfulness-Based Therapy spans 13 years. It is approach that is related to meditation-style skills that we can apply to regulate emotions through compassionate observation. I find it is useful for mood disorders, anger management, binge eating, self injury and other negative coping behaviors. In session it can look like tuning into the body or breath or it might mean watching thoughts and how they affect our mood. It is flexible approach that can compliment a number of treatments.
Internal Family Systems (IFS)
I have been using IFS for the last 5 years and find it is useful for clients suffering with eating issues and trauma. It is an approach that allows for new ways to see habits, behaviors and parts of ourselves through a lens of safety and survival. I find IFS very helpful in reducing shame or guilt that prevent us from growing. It is also a game changer for many people who know what their issues are but have been unable to find relief from traditional talk therapy in the past.
Mental Performance Coaching
Solution-Focused Approaches
Solution-focused approaches in coaching and counseling offer a collaborative, supportive environment to explore a specific issue. Using novel and fresh ways of thinking about the problem, the aim is to draw on existing strengths and skills to overcome blocks. This approach starts with defining the goals, but it perfectly acceptable to seek out coaching without a specific goal. For many, they know how they would like to feel – or even what they don’t want to feel anymore! From there, we can build a shared understanding of the issues at hand until a workable goal is defined. Solution focused coaching and counseling can be useful for students, people in transitional periods of life, professionals navigating a change and those looking to improve and develop in an area of life.
Mind-Body Regulation Skills
We all must balance the brain and the heart – logic and rationality with emotion and instinct. Very often we favor one way or the other and this only becomes an issue when we are trying something new, elevating or pushing beyond previous comfort levels. This approach is not really about pushing through or just ignoring how we feel, but rather drawing on the wisdom of the body and mind in harmony to access the best version of yourself and your abilities. In practice, this approach might include developing awareness into thinking styles and emotional reactions both in session and by observing the key situations out of session. I support clients to build a set of skills they can use flexibly, empowering them with a better relationship between rationality and emotionality.
Strength-based Approaches
It can difficult to see ourselves in a realistic light and we are not as objective as we imagine. So we can often don’t see what is there, even when it’s important and could help. Challenges and barriers make it difficult to be aware of our strengths, particularly as we excel in an area or field. You are ready to meet these challenges, but it is understandable to not feel like it. Strength-based approaches invite us to look through a new lens – one that sees how we made it through even the darkest periods of life. Defining those strengths is the first step towards remembering who you really are and discovering how to work through what faces you now.
Yoga and Yoga Therapy
Yoga offers a healing mind-body approach that can be useful in healing psychologically, physically or staying well. Yoga can be used with alone or as part of a psychotherapy, counseling or coaching service. Yoga can include physical movement, stretches or focus on breath, awareness and calm observation.
‘Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodhah’ ~ Patanjali, Yoga Sutra 1.2 Yoga is stilling the fluctuations of the mind