The approach I take to psychotherapy is fundamentally depth psychological. In essence, this means that I believe we do not fully know ourselves and that there are layers of the mind which we cannot see directly. We are often at least partially unaware of the fact that we are suffering and the reasons for our suffering. We don’t really know why we think or feel or behave in the ways we do; and we have blindnesses about the strategies we employ to avoid knowing certain things about ourselves, others, or life in general.

In my view, the unconscious mind is infinitely more complex and influential than the conscious mind. If we are dealing with symptoms, moods, compulsions, obsessions, or recurring issues in our lives, we need to engage the unconscious mind in the project of understanding and resolving them, and this can’t be done by simply asking it to cooperate or respond differently. We have to take more indirect means. Because this process requires going beneath our usual defenses and beyond our ordinary perspective, it requires patience, openness, and tolerance for the unknown. Depth psychotherapy certainly can relieve psychological symptoms and treat mental illness, but its attitude towards symptoms is curious rather than rejecting. Symptoms are not inherently seen as a problem or flaw in a person.

My style is integrative, in that I use a variety of different techniques and interventions depending on the unique needs, affinities, and capacities of each person I work with. For some individuals, especially for those who have a history of trauma or have experienced the loss of basic safety at some point in their lives, involving the body is often absolutely instrumental to healing and processing emotional energy. For others, expressive arts like movement and visual art-making can be powerful ways of activating and relating to the non-rational mind. In general, I believe that the therapeutic relationship serves as the primary vehicle for healing and insight, and that it can’t be replicated by any other kind of relationship, or experienced alone.

Below is a very brief summary of each of the disciplines most central to my work.

Psychodynamic and psychoanalytic approaches emphasize the impact of the past on the present. The personality is viewed as a construction of a set of defenses, or ways of coping with or avoiding emotions that conflict with one’s sense of self and world. These defenses are usually understood as having once been necessary for psychological survival, but potentially inhibiting or limiting to one’s life in the present.

The primary modality used is talking. The client is encouraged to speak freely about whatever comes to their mind, and if they struggle to do so, they are welcomed to speak about the experience of that struggle. The therapist might ask the client questions to deepen their process of reflection, notice patterns, draw attention to subliminal meanings or implications of what was said, bring awareness to the client’s use of defenses, or examine the dynamics playing out in the relationship between client and therapist.

Somatic and expressive approaches appreciate the fact that insight, healing, and development can occur on non-intellectual, non-verbal levels of experience.

Somatic approaches are based on a respect for the nervous system and body’s deep, evolutionary, intuitive wisdom. Expressive approaches are based on the values of imagination and creativity, and the catharsis inherent in acts of expression. The emphasis of both is more on direct experience than interpretation. I tend to combine these two approaches.

The therapist may prompt the client to notice what is occurring in their body and describe or focus on the sensations being experienced, or engage the client in a movement or expressive act that depicts the inner experience. When working with trauma and high levels of activation, the therapist may help the client to regulate via body-based or creative interventions, in order to inhabit a state of safety and presence.