My Approach

I use a mixture of cognitive-behavioral, psychodynamic and humanistic techniques in my therapy. The cognitive-behavioral piece allows me to help you identify thought patterns that might be getting in your way. Psychodynamic is a perspective that helps me focus on the past, your childhood and the roots of emotional struggles. Lastly, the humanistic aspect of my approach emphasizes helping you make the right choices for you, to find meaning in your life and grow your sense of self. My goal is for us to work together to create a productive yet safe environment for growth.

Therapeutic Services

Individual Therapy for Adults

The single most important factor in predicting therapy outcomes is the relationship between client and therapist. For this reason, I do whatever I can to create an environment where the client feels safe to simply be his or her authentic self. From this foundation, some if the issues I have worked with are:

• Anxiety and/or Depression

• Relationship Issues

• Intimacy and Commitment

• Problematic Drinking/Substance Use

• Men’s Issues

Therapy for Teens and Adolescents

Teens and adolescents today face tremendous amounts of pressure scholastically, socially, and athletically. In addition to or sometimes because of this, their relationships with parents and siblings can become fraught. In my practice, I support teens in using Cognitive Behavioral skills to create a more balanced perspective of the world around them so they can better cope with daily stressors. I also assist in helping parents create open communication with their children and to more thoroughly understand them. In addition to helping teens cope with ongoing pressures and facilitating parent-child communication, I provide treatment to clients dealing with:

• Peer Conflict/Bullying

• Depression

• Social Anxiety Disorder

• Suicidal Ideation

• Substance Use/Experimentation

Couples Therapy

Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is one of the most evidence-based modalities for couples therapy, boasting a success rate of up to 70%. For this reason, it is the primary approach I employ with the couples I see. In short, EFT seeks to hone in on recurring negative cycles of interaction while using each partner’s felt experience as a guide. Of course, in the same way that no two people are the same, no two couples are the same in the way they relate to one another. For this reason, I also draw from EFT’s similarly research-supported brethren: the Gottman Method. This approach equips each partner with the skills for more high-level communication. Specific issues I have helped couples work through include:

• Managing “thirds” (Families of Origin)

• Communication Difficulties

• Infidelity

• Lack of Intimacy

Substance Abuse

In my career, I have spent several years working as a sobriety coach in addition to serving as a primary therapist at Los Angeles’s BLVD Treatment Center. While I do not believe that complete abstinence from alcohol and substances is the only solution for everyone, taking a look at the way we reach for these as a coping mechanism can be, at the very least, enlightening. For my clients who do elect to pursue recovery, I have considerable fluency in the 12-step model, which is helpful in my ability to support them. My work with those seeking help vis-a-vis substance use includes:

• Utilizing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to address negative thoughts which contribute
  to the urge to use substances

• Employing Behavior Management to modify environmental stressors that lead to substance use

• Identifying effective coping strategies that may offer an alternative to substance use