I endorse an eclectic developmental approach to therapy. This means that I draw from several therapeutic models, with a basic belief that people's temperaments as well as early experiences have shaped who they are as teens and adults. My approach is founded largely on the Internal Family Systems model developed by Richard Schwartz. Based on this model, I believe that you, like everyone, have a core Self (related to your inborn temperament) that you can learn to access, leading to greater balance and "Self-leadership."
However, you have parts of yourself (that developed to help you cope with unique circumstances in your early life) that prevent you from Self-leadership on a day-to-day and moment-to-moment basis. Although these parts arose to help you manage and survive real-life circumstances in the past, they may be behaving in counterproductive ways now. We all inevitably encounter conflicts among our parts; one part may seek out individuals you can take care of, while another part resents being the caregiver. One part may deeply desire emotional intimacy, while another part sabotages your relationships out of fear of being hurt. Someone with gender incongruence may have a part that wants to embrace and celebrate it, while another part is terrified of it and seeks to hide it.
I help people learn how to identify their parts and communicate with them. Much like family therapy, we work with your parts to reduce conflict among them and help them to compromise and ultimately to collaborate. Gradually, your parts' behaviors become less extreme and your Self emerges as a leader. You feel more balanced and in control. Also, you have a deeper understanding of how interactions between your parts and those of your partner, other loved ones, and coworkers create conflict. Because you are no longer locked into your old, habitual ways of responding to the world, you are free to grow.
We all have internal systems, and we are all embedded in external systems. I work closely with clients to uncover ways in which family-of-origin dynamics, racism, sexism, and cultural values and variables have shaped them and continue to affect them. I help people learn how to strike a balance between escaping toxic situations on the one hand and learning resilience on the other.
In line with affirmative practice generally, I endorse the gender affirmative model for children and adolescents.
However, you have parts of yourself (that developed to help you cope with unique circumstances in your early life) that prevent you from Self-leadership on a day-to-day and moment-to-moment basis. Although these parts arose to help you manage and survive real-life circumstances in the past, they may be behaving in counterproductive ways now. We all inevitably encounter conflicts among our parts; one part may seek out individuals you can take care of, while another part resents being the caregiver. One part may deeply desire emotional intimacy, while another part sabotages your relationships out of fear of being hurt. Someone with gender incongruence may have a part that wants to embrace and celebrate it, while another part is terrified of it and seeks to hide it.
I help people learn how to identify their parts and communicate with them. Much like family therapy, we work with your parts to reduce conflict among them and help them to compromise and ultimately to collaborate. Gradually, your parts' behaviors become less extreme and your Self emerges as a leader. You feel more balanced and in control. Also, you have a deeper understanding of how interactions between your parts and those of your partner, other loved ones, and coworkers create conflict. Because you are no longer locked into your old, habitual ways of responding to the world, you are free to grow.
We all have internal systems, and we are all embedded in external systems. I work closely with clients to uncover ways in which family-of-origin dynamics, racism, sexism, and cultural values and variables have shaped them and continue to affect them. I help people learn how to strike a balance between escaping toxic situations on the one hand and learning resilience on the other.
In line with affirmative practice generally, I endorse the gender affirmative model for children and adolescents.