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HOW I APPROACH THERAPY
In my experience, the most success occurs when the therapeutic relationship is based on trust, authenticity, vulnerability, and truth. As I get to know each client, I will focus on using clients' natural strengths to infuse areas that are reportedly more challenging. My work is process-oriented and based on individual needs; however, I always include elements of psycho-education in my practice, as it is so often true that many of the
issues we struggle with can be partially solved by “knowing
better”.
AREAS OF SPECIALTY
COUPLES
As of November, 2021, I am a Certified PACT Level 2 Therapist working with couples. PACT stands for a "Psychobiological Approach to Couples Therapy" and was developed by Stan Tatkin, PsyD. For more information about the PACT therapeutic model and how it applies to working with couples, please visit: www.thepactinstitute.com.
EATING DISORDERS
I have 12+ years of experience working with clients who struggle with eating disorders and disordered eating. Initial sessions with this client demographic will likely address the following: communication styles, assertiveness skills, family dynamics, internalized messages about body and body image, coping strategies, attachment patterns/styles, sensitivity and depth of processing, and work with shame and vulnerability.
HIGHLY SENSITIVE PERSONS
As of early 2016, I have added the speciality of working with "Highly Sensitive Persons” (HSPs) based on the work of Dr. Elaine Aron, psychologist and researcher who has spent her life advocating for HSPs across the globe. For more information, Dr. Elaine Aron’s website offers a ton of resources and research regarding sensitivity: www.hsperson.com.
ADVOCACY: "HEALTH AT EVERY SIZE"
I am a Health at Every Size (HAES) advocate, and I incorporate this philosophy into my work with clients. The HAES movement has the following basic components:
Respect
Celebrates body diversity, honors differences in size, age, race, ethnicity, gender, dis-ability, sexual orientation, religion, class, and other human attributes
Critical Awareness
Challenges scientific and cultural assumptions, values body knowledge and people's lived experiences
Compassionate Self-care
Finding the joy in moving one's body and being physically active, eating in a flexible and attuned manner that values pleasure and honors internal cues of hunger, satiety, and appetite, while respecting the social conditions that frame eating options
To become a HAES advocate, and to learn more about the Health at Every Size movement, go to: http://haescommunity.com