Therapy Services

Therapy for Adults, Adolescents, Couples and Families

Assessment

A thoughtful and thorough assessment of your situation and what brings you to seek therapy is the first step to feeling better. Different problems require different types of treatments. It is important to have a highly trained and experienced therapist to accurately assess your situation to provide effective treatment. An assessment consultation gives you the opportunity to get to know the therapist while also providing the therapist with important information.  Finding a “good fit” is important if the therapy is to be successful. Together we will evaluate the possibilities for treatment, enabling you to make an informed decision on the goals, time frame and therapeutic style of treatment. Assessments would typically range from one to three sessions.

Psychotherapy and psychoanalytic treatment

Many forms of therapy focus on treating the symptoms associated with the wide range of life challenges. For instance, making a list of to-dos if you feel anxious, or counting to ten if you struggle with losing your temper. Psychodynamic treatment goes to another level and is different from most other therapies. We will work to understand the origin of your problems and difficulties and how these patterns and ways of thinking are influencing you today, so that you can reduce the symptoms and alleviate pain and stress. Psychotherapy helps to change the relationship that you have with yourself, it provides long-term solutions to your problems so that you can live a more free and contented life.

For the past 20 years, I have helped people with personal and professional challenges, which often come to light during times of stress or transition. These challenges run across a wide range of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, eating disorders, trauma and relationship difficulties. These symptoms are often triggered by life transitions, which can include relocating, becoming a parent, bereavement, changing jobs, getting married or divorced, deteriorating health or many other life events that impact people in a variety of ways.

Working with adolescents and their families

Perhaps one of the most challenging transitions during life is during adolescence. Teenagers strive to grow up and “separate” from their parents, and parents strive to provide a safe environment with appropriate boundaries while also giving freedom to grow. The path is fraught with emotions, hormones and feelings on both sides. Adolescents communicate emotional distress in many ways. Often they express emotional pain by acting things out instead of verbalizing. Examples include eating issues, problems with schoolwork, peer relationships, family relationships, aggressive or impulsive behavior, sexual promiscuity or experimentation with drugs and/or alcohol. Some of these signs are “normal”, but some may need to be evaluated, especially if there is an increase in intensity and if the behavior is interfering with school or family life.  It is important that adolescents that have mental health problems receive treatment early so that they can continue to develop in a healthy way.