Treatment Modalities

My therapy work is centered on mindfulness: the skill of developing awareness of the present moment without judgement. It is one of the core principals of two mindfulness-based therapies, the principals of which I have woven into the work I do: ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) and MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction). Developing mindfulness allows clients to find refuge from the mental chatter, learn to accept life on it's own terms, develop gratitude, compassion and loving-kindness, and ultimately find the peace of presence in the here and now.. 

Eye-Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR) is one of the most effective evidence-based treatments for trauma (and a variety of other mental health concerns) currently available. I have been trained in this approach and have worked to integrate it into my already diverse psychotherapeutic practice. EMDR provides a useful framework where clients can develop trust in their own innate wisdom as they "get out of the way" and to learn to relate their trauma and pain in healthy, more functional way. 

Informed by the classic psychodynamic theories, I work to create a safe space for clients to process and explore their past, their relationships, and the development of internal objects that have informed their personalities. Additionally, we explore their defense mechanisms, seeking to understand how they have been employed in the past to help clients cope with trauma and stressors. Additionally, we pay attention to dreams, fantasies and other in-roads to the unconscious mind, asserting that healing can spontaneously happen as we make the unconscious conscious.  

I am certified as a sand-play practitioner with Western Sand-Play Associates. Sand-play is a unique method with a long-heritage based in Jungian Theory. Combining elements of dream work, play therapy, art therapy and psychodynamic exploration, clients utilize miniatures to create symbolic representations of their mind - both conscious and unconscious. Through working with these symbolic representations in the therapeutic setting, clients gain a better understanding of themselves and develop unique and often numinous insight about how to move forward in their own healing journies.

Research has shown the healing power of psychedelic medicines when used in a therapeutic setting. I work, as an IPI certified psychedelic-assisted therapy provider, with individuals who have chosen to utilized these substances on their own from a harm-reduction model. I help clients understand how to stay safe, garner insights, and successfully integrate after use if they, as sovereign adults, choose to engage with these substances. I do not recommend psychedelic use, nor do I offer psychedelic therapy where the legal status of the medicine is in question.  I do offer Ketamine-Assisted Therapy, helping clients prepare for, sit with and integrate insights from Ketamine sessions, maximizing healing potential.

The most significant influence on my therapeutic approach is Carl Jung, an early pioneer of psychotherapy and explorer of the unconscious mind. Informed by Jungian theory, I help clients explore how the archetypes of the collective unconscious manifest in their lives. Working with  symbols, dreams, imagination, creative expression and writing, clients engage with the content of their unconscious minds,  and come to understand how these archetypal energies guide their lives and provide personal sense of meaning and purpose.