You may want help with existing relationships. Or you may want help getting into a healthy, happy relationship. You may come from a family where there was a lot of hurt. Or you may be in a family that needs healing now. You may have been hurt in a relationship, and seek healing within it. Or you may want help getting out of an unhealthy relationship.
I will guide you as you improve your relationships. My work is eclectic. I have learned many approaches to psychotherapy, and have found that no one approach is good for all people. Some approaches are good for many people, some are good only for a few people, but only in very specific circumstances. The approaches I draw on most frequently are mindfulness of present experience, problem-solving, cognitive-behavioral (changing thinking or behaviors), psychodynamic (basically, a respect for the power of the unconscious), and family systems (a focus on inter-relationships).
I offer more than 15 years of experience in looking deeply at relationships, helping people see more clearly what is needed, and helping them modify their approaches for better results or more intimacy.

You might come to therapy for just about anything. Sadness, depression, a wish for more joy, for example. Or anxiety, worry, fear of public speaking, panic attacks, phobias, or courage to try new things. Or any of a host of other conditions thought of as ‘emotional.’ My training was in a mental health clinic where we treated a wide variety of conditions. I learned that often a person coming in for one reason turns out to want help with something else. I learned to be cautious with diagnosis, since I have never met two people with exactly the same situation or problem, and the nature of diagnosis is to categorize individuals. It is best to expect to meet a unique you, and to have broad background and training.

Two people come together, usually with so much hope, then something happens that makes the whole relationship very vulnerable. Figuring out what is going on, looking below the surface, helping identify what is truly important, and what to do about it, is the beginning of the process of couples counseling. Then comes the work of expressing and healing feelings. Altogether, this can be an intense process, although each couple proceeds at its own pace. There are many, many approaches to couples work. I have found that none of them is right for all couples. Instead, my approach is eclectic, drawing on elements of different approaches based on the needs of each couple as they progress through this therapy.

Family life can bring some of the deepest, warmest feelings to life. Families can also involve incredible pain and suffering. Treating people in the context of family is often a critical part of treatment. However, the family doesn’t always need to be present. An individual in my office can summon up plenty of family material with my guidance.
We are social beings, and we first learn about the world through our families. Often, remedies for individual issues come through family therapy, through altering relationships within the family, or saying things that need to be said within the family. Sometimes family therapy includes parents and children, sometimes grandparents as well.
Often family therapy is mixed with individual and couples therapy as the focus changes from individual behavior and feelings to inter-relationships.