As a systemic therapist, I help clients explore the patterns that influence their relationships and the ways those interactions impact their mental and emotional well-being.
I believe that the quality of our relationships—both with ourselves and others—is central to living a fulfilling life.
Through a blend of evidence-based therapies, I combine techniques that enhance self-awareness, communication and motivation to support lasting change.
When working within systems (e.g., with couples or families), I draw primarily from Emotionally Focused Therapy and Relational Life Therapy.
As the name implies, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) centralizes our emotional experience. Many of us learn to suppress or avoid difficult emotion which leads us to feeling disconnected and insecure in our relationships. As humans, we have an innate need to feel loved, safe and connected, but it doesn’t mean that we always know how to meet those needs (in fact, we often find ourselves engaging in actions that take us further away from that desire). Through EFT, we work to restructure interactions (i.e., what’s beneath those same old arguments we get in again and again) with the goal of creating more secure attachment.
Relational Life Therapy (RLT) takes more of an emphasis on teaching partners how to live in “relational integrity”, which Terry Real, the founder of RLT, describes as the practice of being your most honest, accountable self in a relationship while respecting your partner’s needs and humanity. In RLT, we work to identify and change unhealthy behaviors and teach relational skills that help you to build true partnership.
Together, these therapies complement each other through integrating emotional depth and behavioral accountability.
Many of these relational techniques can and are often used when working with individuals. In addition, I incorporate interventions from behavioral therapies including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Unified Protocol (UP) in order to help my clients increase psychological flexibility and improve emotional regulation.
Lastly, as a certified coach, I integrate coaching techniques to help clients set goals, stay motivated and take steps towards positive change.
