Theoretical Orientation

I have extensive training and personal experience in the following psychological theories and treatment approaches, and I utilize them in my work.

Psychodynamic – Promotes insight and resolving conflicts by bringing unconscious thoughts, beliefs, memories and fantasies into conscious awareness so that they can be understood and managed or changed.

Object Relations – Views relationships as primary, beginning with the mother-infant dyad, and postulates that they lay the foundation for the development of individual identity and become the basis for later relations with others, in friendship, work, marriage, and raising a family.

Attachment – Focuses on insecure attachment styles including preoccupied, dismissive and mixed; explains how these become enduring patterns in relationships and promotes the development of secure attachment styles.

Self Psychology – Emphasizes that sense of self-esteem develops during childhood through relationships with primary caregivers and promotes positive self-esteem and vitality through the giving and receiving of empathy.

Cognitive Behavioral – Addresses how thoughts and beliefs impact what we feel and do. Assists in replacing negative thinking and destructive behaviors with positive.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy – Teaches distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, mindfulness, and emotion regulation.

Humanistic – Theorizes that individuals will naturally grow toward self-actualization with the therapist’s personal congruence, unconditional positive regard and accurate empathic understanding.

Existential – Focuses on free will, responsibility for choices and the search for meaning and purpose through suffering, love, and work.

12-Step Facilitation of Addictions – Addresses addictions and co-occurring problems such as conduct disorders, depression and family conflict through behavioral contracting and encourages active involvement in 12-step groups to promote abstinence.

In our work together, I will draw from the theories that will be most helpful for you.