My Approach
As a psychodynamic therapist, I am interested in unconscious relational patterns from childhood that have stayed with you, transferring into your significant adult relationships and often interfering with your capacity to experience yourself and others as you really are. In our first sessions, I'll ask questions about what feels difficult in the present and what your childhood was like, prompting you to speak about significant memories, important figures and feelings.
In sessions that follow, I'll prompt you to begin from your sense of what feels distressing and important. Change occurs in layers, and as we continue to build a trusting relationship, we will make space for the emergence of greater emotional and psychic difficulty. We will also be better equipped to process what feels stuck in your relationships through the use of our relationship. To experience deeper and more meaningful changes, therapy is most beneficial over a longer-term period of at least six months to a year. As a result, I usually recommend clients commit to a minimum of six months up to 1-2 years for lasting and substantial therapeutic change. Everyone's needs are unique and I will check in with you frequently to ensure you're getting what you need.
My work with couples follows the emotionally focused couples therapy (EFT) model. The first 4-5 sessions are a shared assessment for both of us, where I ask about your history as a couple, what you'd like to focus on, and whether there are any contraindications to doing EFT couples' therapy. In the 2nd and 3rd sessions, I meet with each person individually to learn more about your growing up period and the attachment strategies you used. Following this, we reconvene to track the cycle(s) you feel stuck in as a couple, exploring in greater depth your underlying emotions, triggers and attachment needs that contribute to unhelpful ways of relating. Through this process of slowing down to better understand what happens and the emotional undercurrents driving the cycle, couples are better equipped to listen and attend to each other with greater care and understanding.