| Therapeutic Approach
My approach is rooted in psychoanalytic
principles. I listen with attention to both what you say and 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 understanding through considering your
dreams (both night and day dreams), and other imaginative expressions that
arise within the process. The intention is to cultivate your capacity to
observe, be curious about, and attend to your personal experience, and
come to understand how this plays itself out in your day-to-day life.
Emotional/mental turmoil and pain can be
very difficult to live with. It is not uncommon to react against it through
various defenses or coping mechanisms. But when ways of coping with feelings
of fear, anger, boredom, futility, and sadness cause more of the same,
you can end up in a vicious cycle. The inability to have fulfilling relationships,
feelings of despair, depression, compulsive behavior, anxiety and panic
attacks, as well as addictive types of behavior can set in and cause damage.
I have found that in order to create lasting change, therapy must provide
a means of attending to one’s feelings, by helping to develop alternative
ways of being with one’s self and others, and by helping to restore or
build inner confidence that brings a sense of hope.
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. |
