TREATMENT APPROACH

My work is informed by four approaches to psychotherapy depending on the nature of the issue/problem.

PERSON-IN-ENVIRONMENT/aka SYSTEMS THINKING

Our emotional health is impacted by the environment in which we live. This model considers family and work situations (current and historic), community and culture as having a significant effect.  It acknowledges that under- or un-employment, sexual and physical violence, discrimination (racial, class, age, physical ability, gender, sexual orientation), non-citizen status, and carework responsibilities play a role in our emotional well-being and functioning.

MINDFULNESS

Mindfulness practice is based on paying attention. In our fast paced, technologically oriented lives, we are often running on automatic pilot - our bodies in one place, our minds in another. We may rush through experiences and encounters with others with little or no awareness. We’re actually missing many moments of our lives because we are not fully present for them. In a mindfulness approach, we learn to pay attention to our experience, meeting it with kindness, compassion and non-judgmentally.

Using a more structured approach, mindfulness can be used to manage depression and anxiety.  Over the course of an 8-week class, participants learn new skills and concepts that help them stay out of the way of negative thoughts and learn to manage the unpleasant emotions that typically accompany these conditions. For more information:

Falling Awake: a Mindfulness Approach to Depression and Anxiety.

SPIRITUALITY

If client has a faith or spiritual orientation, I simply note it as a resource and incorporate it into treatment as appropriate.  All faiths, including no faith, are welcome!