My Approach
One of the hallmarks of my work is a supportive, yet active style. I believe therapy should be an interactive conversation, one in which I listen carefully and give ideas and suggestions to help clients consider new ways to understand their own feelings, motivations, and behavior, as well as those of significant others in their lives. Rather than simply asking clients "what do you think?", or "how do you feel?", I challenge them to reconsider their perspectives and behavior by suggesting new, thought-provoking, ways to think about the issues that are problematic for them. Yet, as a cooperative effort, these ideas must also resonate with them.
My work does not fall into one easily labeled school of therapy; rather it is eclectic, using the best approaches from several established and respected schools of therapy. I see therapy as an art that must be tailored to each individual, rather than a "recipe" to be routinely followed with every client.
Individual Therapy
Working individually with adults and teenagers, I focus on issues including depression, anxiety, job and relationship difficulties, low self-esteem, eating disorders, and grief. My extensive training and experience in couples therapy enables me to work individually with individuals who have relationship issues as well. I'm also experienced in working with gay individuals and couples.
Teenagers often pose special challenges in getting them to "buy into" talking with a therapist, but I am skilled in connecting with them. Being a parent of two now-grown children has deepened my understanding of issues between teenagers and their parents.
Special populations I work with include police and veterans, and my previous work with police departments gives me crucial understanding of their specific challenges and issues.
Couples Therapy
With a subspecialty in marital and family therapy, I work with many couples and individuals to improve their relationships and make decisions about them. This involves taking into account both of the individuals' personalities and issues, as well as the way the partners interact with and influence each other. Listening carefully to each partner's perspective enables me to understand both sides and helps each person to understand the other's point of view as well. Rather than looking for "bad guys" and "good guys," or attempting to assign blame, I look for negative patterns and cycles that partners fall into with each other, patterns in which each partner plays a role in establishing and maintaining them. People often engage in problematic behavior because they believe it will be helpful, causing frustration and discouragement when their partner does not respond well to it.
Couples therapy helps partners understand why such behavior is harmful and find other ways of behaving that are more likely to achieve the results they are seeking. I have found that relationships can improve when both partners want it. As an active therapist, the feedback I offer about the relationship - its strengths and weaknesses, as well as ways each partner can improve it - is vital to successful outcomes.