Clinical Approach
A Patient-Driven Process
Most people come to psychotherapy because they have been unable to thrive in their personal lives, their work, or their relationships. They find themselves in difficult circumstances and are suffering with emotional pain – such as anxiety, depression, anger - and with upsetting, often unwanted, thoughts – for example, negative thoughts about themselves and their pasts or futures. Additionally, the behaviors that are meant to alleviate distress often seem to make the situations worse rather than better. I approach psychotherapy as a patient-driven process with the primary objective of helping you achieve a more fulfilling, meaningful quality of life when these forms of suffering are getting in your way and causing you problems.
In this patient-driven context, psychotherapy is a partnerhip in which you play the central role in setting the agenda. Early on, I generally use techniques that encourage mindful and in-depth identification and examination of problematic thoughts, emotions & behavior patterns. Based on this early collaboration, we will tailor the treatment approach to best address your needs and goals. This process is an integrative one that addresses all the important areas of your life, and recognizes that suffering in one or more of these areas often drives dissatisfaction in several of the others.
Our Basic Objectives
Ultimately, the objectives of our psychotherapy work together are focused on three key elements:
- Identifying the emotions/moods, thoughts and past experiences that seem to be obstacles to your positive sense of self and to living a more meaningful life
- Recognizing behaviors that don’t work, are unhelpful, or that are creating additional problems
- Developing skills and new behaviors to navigate through these problems and effectively move forward in your life
Grounded in Acceptance & Commitment Therapy Principles
For more on my general clinical approach, search for information on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy ("ACT"). Below are links to a couple of websites that provide informative general descriptions of ACT.
While ACT is, for the most part, a short-term psychotherapy approach, the length of treatment will be dictated by an individual’s or couple’s clinical needs.