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I am fully licensed in CA (#PSY30891), NY (#021345), and VA (#0810008541), and and licensed to provide telehealth sessions in FL (#TPPY1954)*

I provide individual therapy to adults who are affected by:

  • PTSD & complex trauma

  • Borderline personality disorder (BPD)

  • Bipolar I & II

  • Substance use disorders

  • Depression and other mood disorders

  • Anxiety including social anxiety, healthy anxiety, & panic disorder

  • Volatile or overwhelming emotions

  • Impulsive or difficult to control behaviors

  • High conflict relationships

 

I draw flexibly from my training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), as well as mindfulness- and acceptance-based techniques. My approach is individualized, compassionate, and active. I balance a focus on the present with exploration of how earlier life experiences impact current beliefs, behaviors, and relationships. I am also trained in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), EMDR, and Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP), which allows me to work holistically and creatively with clients to address longstanding issues from a range of perspectives. 

  

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an evidence-based approach for depression, anxiety, panic, trauma, addiction, social anxiety, OCD, and more. CBT is a present-focused, active treatment. CBT helps identify and change problematic patterns of thought and behavior that lead to distress. CBT is an umbrella category for many gold-standard approaches to specific mental health problems. I use Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) for PTSD and trauma as appropriate, exposure and cognitive retraining for anxiety, phobias, panic, and OCD, and behavioral activation for depression, in conjunction with mindfulness. I incorporate Motivational Interviewing, harm-reduction, and skills-focused approaches to substance use and actively treat the underlying mental health issues (anxiety, depression, shame, trauma, emotional volatility) that often lead to substance use. 

 

Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is a skills-based approach for people who experience intense or overwhelming emotions. DBT balances change and acceptance strategies. It teaches skills designed to help people better understand and manage emotions, tolerate stressful situations, improve relationships, and increase the ability to be in the present moment. I am intensively trained in DBT and have previously worked in comprehensive DBT programs. As a solo practitioner, I frequently draw from DBT skills and concepts but do not offer comprehensive DBT nor group skills training. 

 

Mindfulness- and Acceptance-based Approaches

Mindfulness is the state of being fully in the present moment. Mindfulness helps build awareness of thoughts, emotions, sensations, and experiences without being overwhelmed by them. Distress often arises when we feel stuck in the past or worried about the future. The ability to be in the present can free us to experience life more fully. Mindfulness also takes a non-judgmental approach such that we reduce our judgments about good/bad, should/shouldn't that fuel intense reactions and adopt a more objective perspective. 

Acceptance-based approaches are particularly helpful in situations that cannot be changed but cause significant pain.  Of course, it is important to first determine whether or not change is possible, but there are times when tolerating and even accepting painful situations (which is not the same as condoning) can ultimately lead to freedom from suffering.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) weaves together strategies that help us build space between our thoughts, emotional responses, and actions, and helps us clarify our values in order to act in meaningful ways rather than allow emotional impulse to control our actions. ACT frees us to stop struggling with ingrained patterns of thought or emotional response, and practice acceptance in ways that facilitate meaningful change and emotional freedom. 

EMDR

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is an evidence-based therapy for trauma that aims to heal past traumatic experiences that continue to fuel distress in the present. Often, traumatic experiences overload the coping system and can become stuck or unresolved, leading to overwhelming emotional responses that persist long after the traumatic event has passed. EMDR creates a safe environment in which to help the nervous system process those experiences that have become stuck and facilitate healing, which in turn allows us respond adaptively and live fully in the present. 

 

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