How I work…

I am a strengths-based therapist. This means that I believe EVERY PERSON has innate core strengths, no matter their circumstances or what problems might be dominating their life. These strengths might include character traits (e.g. resilience, charisma), talents (e.g. being a good host, being a musician), and/or developed abilities (e.g. leadership skills, empathy). (These aren’t discrete categories; there is overlap and interplay.) It benefits therapy for both therapist and client to know what at least some of those strengths are, identify others, leverage them toward reaching goals, and remember them when focus becomes too problem-saturated. Your treatment plan will include your strengths, in order to support this.

DBT (dialectical behavior therapy) is the form of therapy I am most influenced by; I have found it profoundly helpful and effective, personally and professionally. DBT is very skills-heavy—mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, interpersonal effectiveness, problem-solving—and I am happy to help clients develop as many of these specific skills as are relevant to their goals. Beyond the skills, though, there is much to be gained from developing dialectical perspective itself: the ability to recognize and hold multiple things at the same time, even if some of them seem contradictory. That might look like softening perfectionism by being able to see one’s own successes and failures at the same time, or increasing stability in relationships by remembering that, even when someone makes you angry or hurts your feelings, they can still be “a good person” who you love. I also love DBT’s emphasis on “effectiveness,” meaning “do what works to get you closer to your goals, with a minimum of secondary negative consequences.”

As someone who primarily provided treatment for substance use disorders for several years, I also use motivational interviewing (MI) techniques. These are especially helpful when working with clients on their ambivalence toward change (which is almost always present, even with changes that are wanted very much). A couple of the main techniques involve helping clients see the discrepancies between their actions and their goals and/or values, and not antagonizing someone’s resistance in therapy.

Both DBT and MI have reinforced to me how important willingness and motivation are in creating change. And although I can’t manufacture either of these things for clients, I can certainly help to amplify what’s already there.

My counselor training track specialized in “systems theory,” which is a fundamental lens for working with couples, families, other relationships, and even individuals, since we are all a part of multiple systems (our neighborhoods, workplaces, social circles, etc.). This lens improves my ability to help any client with problems that may be very connected to their relationships, even if the other people in those relationships aren’t “in the room” for therapy.

I also incorporate a small-but-expanding range of Internal Family Systems (IFS or “parts work”), narrative therapy, and somatic (body-based) techniques when a client is interested, or offer them if I think they’re appropriate. At the limits of my scope, I consult with other providers who are more trained in techniques I am not, and make referrals that are in the best interest of and/or requested by the client.

Finally, I am a queer-identified, feminist, anti-racist therapist aligned with social justice. For clients, this means that I treat gender, sexuality, color, economic class, religious affiliation, (dis)ability, etc. with significance and respect. I see you as someone coming from and living through a set of experiences I can never completely understand, but who I can support through empathy, education, and enthusiasm for all of us being healthier, safer, and more fulfilled.