Working Together

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  Psychotherapy is a therapeutic approach used to assist people to work through various life situations using conversation, education, and self-reflection. Psychotherapy can assist people with discovering ways to manage depression, anxiety, anger; to navigate through situational life changes such as grief, bereavement, loss, trauma, or through other difficult self-discoveries. Psychotherapy is sometimes combined with medication prescribed by a physician or psychiatrist. Research shows repeatedly that this combination is a very effective way to assist people in working with disorders such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and psychosis. Psychotherapy is also used to assist people desiring to manage their struggle with various addictions. One of the primary goals of our therapeutic sessions together is to hold a space where you can feel safe as you explore, grow, and heal through the very concerns that brought you to therapy. I look forward to working with you.

Somatic awareness is central to helping the whole person to heal. It is a fact that the body and mind together form a complete person. My work is influenced by several schools of psychotherapy, therapeutic massage and somatic practices (bodywork), all of which help people to understand their bodies, injuries, emotional lives, relationships, illnesses and personal dynamics as part of their healing process. I will often integrate somatic practices into psychotherapy. My focus is on wellness and my areas of clinical expertise include pain, anxiety disorders and stress related problems, depression, trauma issues, relationship problems and life transitions.  

  Somatic Experiencing® is a short-term naturalistic approach to the resolution and healing of trauma developed by Dr. Peter Levine, and is supported by research. It is based upon the observation that wild prey animals, though threatened routinely, are rarely traumatized. Animals in the wild utilize innate mechanisms to regulate and discharge the high levels of energy arousal associated with defensive survival behaviors. These mechanisms provide animals with a built-in "immunity" to trauma that enables them to return to normal in the aftermath of highly "charged" life threatening experiences. ● SE™ employs awareness of body sensation to help people "renegotiate" and heal rather than re-live or re-enact trauma. ● SE™’s guidance of the bodily "felt sense," allows the highly aroused survival energies to be safely experienced and gradually discharged. ● SE™ may employ touch in support of the renegotiation process. ● SE™ “titrates” experience (breaks down into small, incremental steps), rather than evoking catharsis which can overwhelm the regulatory mechanisms of the organism. For more information on Somatic Experiencing® go to www.TraumaHealing.org

Have you ever found yourself getting stuck in the past with things you “should have, could have, or would have done?” Sometimes people get immobilized in patterns of regret, self-pity, and anger which render them unable to make changes while they use up a lot of valuable energy. Remember, this was the past, and it can’t be changed. And, sometimes people are always worrying about the future- what someone might say, how a situation may play out, or how something horrible or unmanageable might happen to them. Learning about and using mindfulness tools can help us to live and remain in the present. When we can live our lives in the present, we can “do things differently as we learn from our past.” We can learn to understand the purpose of and begin to let go of the anxiety producing and energy draining efforts we maintain as we try to “control the future.” We can use our vital energy to live life to the fullest when we are remaining in the moment.

Have you ever wondered why it can sometimes be difficult to make changes? We are often frozen in place by our old beliefs about ability, perspective, the very reasons why we might be unable to change. The way we think often influences the way we behave. Cognitive Behavioral techniques provide a way to help us to challenge old, or false beliefs, and give us a framework to gradually, gently, without immense pressure, question and challenge those beliefs. This allows us to make changes in thoughts and behaviors that no longer serve us well.

During over eight years of service in the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, I focused my work on the unique needs and perspectives of US Military Veterans who have served in all eras of military conflicts and engagements, including: War in Iraq, War in Afghanistan, Persian Gulf War (1991), Vietnam War (1962–1973), Korean War (1950-1953), World War II (1941–1945). I have helped to provide care to hundreds of US Veterans in the areas of mental health, homelessness, addictions, aging, PTSD, combat exposure, Women Veterans, Military Sexual Trauma (MST), “Don’t Ask- Don’t Tell”,  LGBTQIA+ and Transgender Veteran concerns.

In collaboration with several colleagues, I conceptualized, designed and carried out an exciting research project entitled Somatic Experiencing® Informed Therapeutic Group for the Care and Treatment of Biopsychosocial Effects on Gender Diverse Identity. The research has yielded some promising indications that using Somatic Experiencing® informed approaches in a structured therapeutic experiential group setting can help to decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression, reduce negative symptoms of Gender Dysphoria, and increase resilience. This therapeutic group model can be repeatedly replicated, applied and used to help Transgender, Gender Non-Conforming and Gender Variant persons, along with other vulnerable groups within communities.