What I Offer
Flexible Approach
There are several approaches to working with you that I use in session. The fancy term for the way I switch between approaches is “eclectic,” which basically means I use a bunch of tools and adapt them to the needs of each client in the moment. I have specific training in all of the interventions listed below.
Solution Focused Therapy (SFT)
If I were to pick one way of working, this would be it. Solution Focused therapy operates on the principle that, “the problem is the problem."‘ In other words, problem talk keeps us stuck on the problem instead of working toward solutions. Solution Focused therapy looks toward a future you where the problem has been resolved and sets goals based on that. It also looks to your past to find times when you were doing better with your problem than you are now, using your past successes as starting points to improve your current situation.
There are a bunch of things I really like about this. The future focus is fantastic at generating hope. Looking to the past means we’re working for change that has already worked for you (which builds confidence), is something you came up with instead of me (which puts you in the driver’s seat), and comes from your world view, not mine (because it’s your solution).
There are instances where Solution Focused therapy hasn’t worked well for a particular client or situation. In those cases, I’d switch to other ways of working. But I’m clearly a fan of this approach and you’ll see it right from the beginning of working with me.
Mindfulness
While mindfulness is a prominent skill in several types of therapy, I see mindfulness as a way of working in its own right. While mindfulness offers many benefits, I’ll focus on the two benefits that I feel are the most important in psychotherapy: stress reduction and awareness.
The stress reduction part is pretty self-explanatory, especially if you suffer from anxiety. At a minimum, it can give you a short-term break from your problems. It can also help you to lower the temperature on the anxiety you’re feeling, particularly over the long-term with consistent practice.
Awareness is perhaps the most powerful part of mindfulness from a counseling perspective. Mindfulness helps you to focus your attention on your five senses, what’s going on in your body, your thoughts, and your feelings. I strongly believe that many of the roadblocks we face in therapy come from a lack of awareness. Having this awareness can make the difference between remaining stuck or making progress, so mindfulness is a big part of how I prefer to work.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
First off, I use what’s called DBT-Informed therapy rather than adherent DBT. Adherent DBT involves a weekly skills training group, phone conferences, regular consultation with a team of therapists trained in DBT - all of which is impractical for a solo private practice like mine. So I use some of the DBT skills and session techniques (I’m looking at you, diary card and behavior chain analysis) as the need arises.
DBT-Informed therapy is based on the idea that everything we experience has several ways of looking at it and that those ways of looking may be in tension with one another. For example, say your self-critic is relentlessly beating you up. Looking at it through a DBT-Informed lens, you might say, “that self-critic is needlessly cruel” and at the same time, “that self-critic is trying to help you improve something about yourself.” Looking at your self-critic this way could lead to keeping a more open mind about what your inner critic is trying to do for you. Yes, it’s causing you suffering, but spending energy being angry at your inner critic just fans those emotional flames and is likely an obstacle preventing you from moving forward.
Confidentiality
There are two things that a counselor needs to do to meet the bare minimum standard of confidentiality in the United States. The first is ensuring that your therapist adheres to a professional code of conduct like the ACA ethics code. The second is respecting your rights under HIPAA including the use of HIPAA-compliant software for any client data or communication. And yes, I check both of these boxes.
On top of that, I worked as a software developer for twenty-five years before doing this, so I know a thing or two about security. I make sure that I cover the security basics, like using a password manager, (very) long passwords, and multi-factor authentication whenever possible. I stay current on digital security news and change my tools and habits in response.
Most important is avoiding behaviors that may compromise your data. For example, I will never send an email or text with sensitive information in it without your express consent. Even then I’ll probably offer you a more secure way of contacting me.
If tech stuff isn’t your thing, no worries. Just know that I take your security and privacy seriously and that I know how to make sure that your private information stays private.
Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion
Full disclosure: I’m an able-bodied middle-aged middle-class cisgender white dude from suburban Pennsylvania. Aside from knowing what it’s like to struggle to pay bills from time to time, I’m a bullseye for privilege. And I’m acutely aware of that.
For that reason, I approach therapy by drawing from your world view as much as possible. I function more as a guide to get you to think about your values and your experiences and help you to organize and act on those experiences so you can be a healthier person. There’s no way for me to know what it’s like to live your life. You’re the only one who’s lived it. It’s out of respect for your uniqueness that I make every effort to work this way.
Just to put a finer point on it, I’m talking about inclusivity in terms of all the hits: race, class, gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability, age, ethnicity, and economic status. It would be pretty arrogant of me to claim that I know what it’s like to walk in your shoes, so I’m not going to try. What I can and will do is approach our working relationship with the curiosity and humility needed to offer you respect and dignity.
You deserve nothing less.