My Therapeutic Approach

My approach is rooted in psychoanalytic principles; I place a high priority on listening with attention to both what you say as well as to how you relate to yourself and me.  I will explore with you your patterns of thought, emotions, and behavior in order to give expression, understanding and awareness to these patterns.  We may also gain in understanding through the experience of considering your dreams (both night and day dreams) as well as other imaginitive expressions that arise within the process.  The intent is to cultivate your capacity to observe, be curious about and attend to your personal experience and how this plays itself out in your day-to-day life. 

Emotional/mental pain is very difficult to bear and is often reacted against through various defenses or coping mechanisms.  Problems arise when you find yourself in a vicious cycle and the very ways you have developed to cope with pain are mostly just causing more of it.  Depression, despair, obsessive compulsive behavior and/or thoughts, anxiety and panic attacks, and other disorders can set in and cause terrible damage in your life.  To really help you with this type of situation I have found that the therapy needs to attend to the processing of your pain so that you can feel some relief and engage your constructive capacities.  

Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy, with it's emphasis on the "here and now" of your experience and multiple sessions per week, allows for the quality of engagement necessary for you to have meaningful and relevant contact with what is concerning you.

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