Individual Therapy

The original one-on-one therapy session

It starts with more questions than answers

The first part of therapy is about getting to know you. We build trust, we build a relationship, and we create a set of goals to work on. (Think: what do you want to get out of therapy? We work toward that.)

Some common things people want to work on in therapy:

  • Develop healthy ways of coping with anxiety, disability, or depression

  • Navigate family boundaries and family conflict

  • Process trauma

  • Increase self-esteem

Then we do the work

“The Work” can look like anything. I use evidence-based treatment to guide our conversation. We have in-depth conversations that bring us closer to your goals. We might incorporate art, music, podcasts, the latest episode of Bob’s Burgers - truly anything that helps you articulate how you feel and what you need to move forward.

This is also the place where you learn “skills.” Communication, coping, self-care, relationship, etc. Anything to give you the tools you need to be successful.

Your goals will start to come to fruition

Over time, several things can happen. You may notice behaviors you didn’t before. You may notice patterns in your life that you didn’t before. You might change how you do things to live according to your values.

Change happens over time, and as we work together, your goals will be integrated into your daily life.

Trust the process

Progress isn’t linear. That’s part of being human.

Be patient with yourself. Change is a slow and unsteady process. It takes time, and that’s okay. You learn regardless of stepping forward or backward.

Reach out and schedule a consult to see if I’d be a good fit for your process.

When we meet for therapy, I use evidence-based approaches that work:

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

    ACT focuses on identifying your values and taking steps to live life according to those values. During this process, you learn to accept what is out of your control and experience difficult thoughts and feelings without additional suffering.

  • Eye Movement and Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

    This is a trauma treatment first created for veterans with PTSD and has since expanded to treat several different types of trauma and other conditions. It works by processing traumatic memories by simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements or tapping alternately on your legs.

  • Person-Centered or Humanistic Therapy

    Sometimes called Rogerian therapy (after its founder, Carl Rogers), this approach assumes the client is the expert in their own life while the therapist takes a non-directive role. The client guides and leads the therapy.

  • Psychodynamic Therapy

    One of the oldest approaches of therapy, this approach connects past experiences (all the way back to childhood!) to present day thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This approach deeply considers how a person was parented, childhood experiences, and more.

  • Mindfulness

    Mindfulness is about tuning into the mind-body connection in the present moment. You learn to notice your thoughts, feelings, and body sensations as they arise, and understand how they connect.

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

    This approach examines how your thoughts perpetuate your negative beliefs about yourself and the world. It operates under the assumption that your thoughts, feelings, and behavior are are interconnected and influence each other. Therefore, changing unhelpful ways of thinking and behaving can improve your emotional state.

  • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) Skills

    While DBT is an evidence-based modality on its own, I primarily use the skills from this approach. This approach teaches strong emotional regulation skills that come in handy when you’re experiencing intense emotions, especially when in conflict with other people. The skills improve your ability to tolerate distress.