Our Specialties
Every person’s journey is unique, and so are the challenges that come with it. That’s why we offer therapy tailored to different needs, from relationships and anxiety to trauma, eating disorders, and life transitions.
Here are some of the areas we specialize in to help you feel supported, understood, and equipped to move forward.
Relationship Issues
What happened in your relationship?
When you and your partner have relationship issues, it usually means that you have lost track of who you are and what you want from the relationship. Your goals with your partner are no longer the same. There are obstacles to being able to communicate your needs and negotiate them. Together we would try to understand the evolution of the relationship as well as how you may have lost sight of what is important to you. Once you reconnect with what you want, then you can better evaluate what you want in all your relationships.
Contemplating a break-up or adapting to the loss of a relationship is difficult.
The process of contemplating a break up or divorce then adapting to the outcome puts you in crisis mode. You feel like you are on an emotional roller coaster because you are grieving the loss of the relationship and at the same time trying to manage your present life while contemplating a future one. Fears emerge about ability to handle what is at hand. Support becomes paramount during these times.
You do not have to go through it alone.
The therapeutic relationship is a vehicle to working through the grief and confusion while figuring out your next steps. It helps you, individually or with your partner, to organize your feelings and thoughts in a supportive environment. Together we will look at what was important to you before and during your relationship and where the issues began to surface.
Loneliness is inevitable, but it does not have to be all-encompassing. We are here so you do not have to go though it alone. This transitional time is an opportunity to re-discover what is important to you in all your relationships and learn new ways to deepen those connections.
Depression and Anxiety Therapy
Depression and anxiety disorders can be debilitating. They drain motivation and energy while at the same time increase fears about all aspects of your life. Though experiencing depression is very different than battling anxiety, often the treatment approach is similar. It is about identifying and understanding the triggers for the symptoms and learning new ways to manage those triggers when they surface.
What is depression?
Depression causes one to feel depleted of energy, motivation and self-assurance. It affects sleep patterns and appetite; basic functions we need to survive. If there seems to be a genetic or biological component to the depression, a consultation with a psychiatrist may be recommended. To address the emotional component, it is important to discover the negative messages that you send to yourself. It colors your view of yourself, your relationships and the world. Once you have a better understanding of what triggers your depression and causes it to snowball, you can work on new ways to manage those triggers. Each new positive experience is an opportunity on which to build. Because isolation is often an integral part of depression, the connection and support of the therapeutic experience can also help lift you out of the sadness.
What is anxiety?
The symptoms of anxiety can manifest in many ways including obsessive thoughts, compulsive actions, and an inability to concentrate and focus on daily responsibilities. It interferes with relationships to the extent that the anxiety becomes all-consuming, preventing you from evaluating interactions objectively and being present. Oftentimes everything feels personal. We would work together to understand the root of the fears and at the same time explore new ways to manage the anxiety.
Eating Disorder Therapy
There is rarely a simple cause-and-effect relationship when understanding the development of an eating disorder.
Eating disorders are a consequence of a complex interaction of factors. Because of this complexity, eating disorders need to be tackled on a variety of levels. We need to address internal struggles causing the disorder and at the same time you will need new coping skills to replace the function of the eating disorder. It is essential that current relationships are mended and new, supportive relationships are forged. Treatment recommendations may include: individual, family or couples therapy as well as consultations with a physician, registered dietitian and psychiatrist.
It’s not about the food.
Eating disorders, contrary to common belief, are more about managing stress, feelings and self-esteem than about food or weight. The eating disorder provides a false sense of control. It seems “simpler” to shift focus from one’s feelings, which can feel overwhelming, towards the pursuit of managing food intake and body weight.
For example, imagine that you have been told all of your life that you are” too sensitive” and should be able to “shrug it off”. The expectation, in those relationships, is that you always appear “put together” so do “not make waves”. It implies that expressing emotion is somehow a bad thing, instead of a positive aspect of your personality and an effective way to communicate. The fear of dissappointing others become intolerable.
When the eating disorder enters your life, all of your focus goes to maintaining it. The eating disorder provides the appearance of calm, which is really numbness as a result of bingeing, purging or restricting. These eating disorder behaviors cause you to become more isolated, irritable and anxious. It does not resolve the issues, but actually exacerbates them. The eating disorder produces more complications because the emotional, relational and physical consequences of an eating disorder are so dire. The therapeutic relationship is an opportunity to identify the internal struggles underlying the eating disorder, and explore how these struggles impact relationships and livelihood. Together we will provide the support you need to find new, healthier ways of coping.
Trauma Therapy
What is trauma?
Trauma is used to describe a situation that has resulted in intense distress, discomfort, or suffering. You may have experienced or witnessed the event. It might be a single incident, such as sexual or physical abuse, a sudden loss, or experiencing a tragedy or natural disaster. It may also involve prolonged, repeated exposure throughout ones childhood or lifetime. This includes experiencing abuse, neglect, or unhealthy environments.
What are the effects of trauma?
The effects of trauma on the individual can be debilitating and disruptive with everyday life. These may include feeling “jumpy”, “on edge”, or “out of control”. A person may notice increased sadness, irritability, hopelessness, fear, or having a general feeling of “numbness”. People may also have nightmares, or notice “flashbacks” when they encounter a situation that reminds them of their traumatic experience. This can lead to avoidance and patterns of “self-medicating” that may involve substance abuse or other addictive behaviors. Trauma can also lead to difficulties with relationships, as a person’s ability to trust may have been impacted. The isolative, and at times secretive, nature of trauma may also make it difficult to open up to your support system, leading to barriers in relationships at the time when you may need them the most.
Treatment approaches for trauma
Silencing, shame, and isolation are just some of the effects of trauma. This can make it difficult to seek help. That is why we strive to create a safe space where you will feel comfortable sharing and working through your experience. Treatment may involve identifying triggers to certain symptoms, as well as identifying alternative, healthier ways to cope with everyday struggles. It may also include Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART), which is an approach that helps to reimagine the trauma by erasing and replacing the images in your mind that are associated with it.
The collaborative, trusting nature of the therapeutic relationship can be a very healing component of therapy. The treatment approaches are wide-ranging due to the broad nature of trauma; however we will work with you to identify a treatment approach we both feel is effective and achievable.
Midlife Transition
What is a Midlife Transition or “Crisis”?
People in their 40s and 50s experience a Midlife Transition, during which they realize that half of their lives are over. They evaluate where they have been, where they are and where they want to go next. This transition is not problematic for everyone. However, many feelings can surface during this time including anxiety, depression, disappointment, regret, frustration and concerns about the future, which can become a struggle for many. That is how it became known as a Midlife Crisis.
What triggers strong feelings during a Midlife Transition?
There are many potential triggers for a difficult Midlife Transition. Some are:
• Relationship Concerns
• Health Issues
• Physical Changes
• Changing Career Focus
• “Empty Nesting”
Being unhappy in your relationship is a different experience in your 40’s or 50’s, than in one’s 20’s. You may have built a life with someone that no longer works for both of you, but the fears about making changes overtakes the feelings with the status quo. The same applies for career choices and fearing switching gears towards a more fulfilling career. You may not feel satisfied, but fears about starting over and financial concerns overshadow making a change. Of course there are other issues that arise which are out of one’s hands like health issues, physical changes or even “empty nesting” that are most prevalent during this life stage. These, too, trigger feelings that can make this time challenging.
During this transitional time, it is helpful to sort through past patterns, current feelings and future options with a professional in order to carve a path that works for you. It can be scary to think about making changes at this stage of life, even though the way things are may not be ideal. Our goal is to help you get unstuck so that you can imagine what a next chapter might look like and take steps towards realizing it. We will help you explore what is important to you so that you can live your life consistent with those values moving forward. You can be who you want to be.
Neurodivergence
What is neurodiversity?
Neurodiversity is “the diversity of human minds, the infinite variation in neurocognitive functioning within our species.”- Dr. Nick Walker (read more here!) Neurodiversity is a fact of life- all brains are different!
What is Neurodivergence?
Neurodivergence, or being neurodivergent, means having a brain that works differently from the way that mainstream society or dominant culture would expect. Different communities use the term neurodivergence to refer to different things, but is commonly used to refer to people with diagnoses of autism, ADHD, Tourette’s, OCD, dyslexia, epilepsy, sensory processing disorder, and other conditions or disorders affecting sensory processing and communication.
What is Neurodivergence-affirming therapy?
Therapy with neurodivergent folks is focused on a client’s unique challenges and includes thinking about coping skills and reflecting on how the experience of being neurodivergent impacts development, current and past relationships, and emotion regulation. This could include:
- exploring how your unique needs related to neurodivergence might contribute to other mental health challenges like anxiety, depression, substance use, or disordered eating.
- exploring how growing up neurodivergent in a society with neurotypical norms contributed to experiences like isolation, bullying, relationship or academic challenges and feeling othered/misunderstood
- processing how neurodivergence impacts your understanding of your gender or sexuality
- processing a new diagnosis of autism, ADHD, or others given in adulthood
- helping you identify feelings and using stimming and other forms of self-expression to regulate emotions
Neurodivergence-affirming therapy can include elements of sensorimotor psychotherapy, ACT, DBT, ERT, narrative therapy and expressive arts and mindfulness. ART can also be a helpful tool to process specific traumatic events related to growing up neurodivergent in a neurotypical world. Neurodivergence-affirming therapy will be uniquely tailored to your behavioral needs to: fidget or “stimm” (fidget toys are welcome and available in session!), move about the room, adjust eye contact and communication style, or shift session location between in person and virtual.