My Approach to Helping
When does wanting something more become an issue? When our normal desire for change has no recognized solutions. When our wants lead to self-rejection or frustration that keep those we care about at arms-length. When we disengage to avoid expressing a need, but get accused of not caring. We prepare for arguments before entering the room and the script plays out as expected, but it's not what we want. These are common struggles without generic answers. Relationship dynamics are as unique as the individuals who live them, which is why change requires specific approaches in addressing issues.
More Info About My Practice
As a licensed Couples and Family Therapist with more than ten years experience stabilizing relationships I provide a respectful, nonjudgmental, confidential space to move beyond entrenched interpersonal and relational struggles. It is through the facilitation of your process and mutual understandings that lives become enhanced every day at our office. Over years of providing individual therapy I have come to recognize the importance of systemic approaches. As your relationship technician my role can be to support parenting strategies, engage noble intentions of adolescents, or safely mediate family conflicts. I provide the help you need to get the change you want.
Theoretical Influences that Guide My Work
Throughout my college education studying psychology I worked as a crisis supervisor teaching intervention to new therapists. I received my masters degree in Family Therapy in 2004 at the University of Oregon. In Connecticut I studied and provided the evidence-based practice of Functional Family Therapy engaging the nobel intentions of at-risk youth. I have been working in the Vancouver area for the past four years as a home-based family therapist for Family Preservation Services diverting children from mental health hospitalizations. I am currently in private practice both in Portland and in Vancouver. I am accustomed to mediating disputes, motivational interviewing, Collaborative Couples therapy, and the utilization of Gottman therapeutic approaches.
What I Say to People Concerned about the Therapy Process
We all have a certain way of thinking about things. Many of us wait until we reach a breaking point before we give up our minds to a professional wanting a fix for what seems to be broken. But the therapeutic process is never about giving up a person's integrity, or free will to decide. It is quite the opposite. The way we think about and interpret the world around us is often automatic, set on an auto-pilot allowing us to navigate our busy lives without hesitations. We feel attached to these predictable, habitual responses because we feel they define us. Just because we thought a certain way in the past doesn't mean have we have to think that way now. Sometimes our anxiety comes from a need to make a shift, to reset the controls, and decide how we want to redefine our life experience, our relationships, and our future habits.