My Approach

My role as a therapist is to provide a space for you to explore your inner world, discover what makes life meaningful for you, and help you move towards wholeness through the use of therapeutic approaches that help you become aligned in mind, body, and sprit. In my work with clients, I draw on interventions from several therapeutic schools of thought, including parts work - also known as ego state therapy, Transpersonal therapy, and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).

You can learn more about the therapeutic approaches I utilize in my work below.

Parts work

Many therapeutic approaches incorporate the idea that the human personality is made up of many parts or aspects. Some of these approaches include Internal Family Systems, Voice Dialogue, Psychosynthesis, and Developmental Needs Meeting Strategy. It's likely that at some point in your life, you've found yourself saying something along the lines of "a part of me wants x...and another part of me wants y...". It's perfectly normal to have different parts of your personality that want and need different things. In my view, these different parts develop in response to our life experiences, both positive and negative. Each part serves a purpose and all parts have our best interests at heart, though they may sometimes manifest in ways that seem unhelpful to us. I help people to identify the parts that are in play in their internal worlds and provide guidance on how to develop productive relationships with these parts. 

Transpersonal therapy

"Unlike most forms of psychotherapy that concentrate on improving mental health, transpersonal therapy takes a more holistic approach, addressing mental, physical, social, emotional, creative, and intellectual needs, with an emphasis on the role of a healthy spirit in healing. Transpersonal therapy integrates spiritual traditions and rituals into modern psychology...The holistic treatment is based on the idea that humans are more than just their mind and body, but are also composed of intangible, or transcendent, factors that make up the whole person. Transpersonal therapists aim to aid clients in transcending their current view of themselves and to open their minds to new ways of approaching the challenges in their lives. Practitioners use a variety of approaches, some taken from Eastern traditions and others from Western psychology, to help you explore your spiritual self and create meaning in your life. These include:

• Meditation
• Guided visualization
• Hypnotherapy

  See this Psychology Today for more information on this approach.

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing

EMDR is an evidence-based therapy approach initially developed as a treatment for trauma, but since its discovery in the late 1980s, it has been used in the treatment of everything from anxiety, panic, and phobias to depression, grief and loss. EMDR differs significantly from other approaches to therapy. According to EMDRIA, the professional organization that oversees EMDR training all around the world, "EMDR therapy does not require talking in detail about the distressing issue or completing homework between sessions. EMDR therapy, rather than focusing on changing the emotions, thoughts, or behaviors resulting from the distressing issue, allows the brain to resume its natural healing process. EMDR therapy is designed to resolve unprocessed traumatic memories in the brain. For many clients, EMDR therapy can be completed in fewer sessions than other psychotherapies." (For more information see About EMDR Therapy on the EMDRIA website).