Treatment Approaches
My approaches are evidence-based, trauma-informed, and culturally conscious.
I believe that you are the expert of your own life and I believe in the human capacity for choice, empowerment, and self-actualization. Thus, I will be an active participant in helping you move towards your goals and will never work harder than you. Instead, I will give you tools to empower yourself to grow and thrive to the extent that you desire to do so.
To provide you with a truly personalized experience, I create tailored individualized mental health plans geared towards results. My two primary treatment methods are Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). I also integrate wisdom from other therapeutic approaches including Motivational Interviewing (MI), and psychodynamic, attachment-based, humanistic, existential, and mindfulness-based psychotherapy.
What are CBT and ACT?
CBT
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT is an evidence-based (research supported), short-term, goal-oriented, and problem-solving type of talk therapy. CBT is primarily present-focused and is grounding in the belief that a person’s perception of events – rather than the events themselves – determines how they will feel and act in response. CBT helps people see the difference between beliefs, thoughts, and feelings and free them from unhelpful thinking patterns that cause problematic behavior and overwhelming emotions in order to live a more satisfying life.
ACT
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or ACT (said like “act”) is a mindfulness and acceptance-based approach to behavioral therapy. Its unique goal is to help you create a rich and meaningful life alongside the existence of pain and suffering. Through ACT, you develop mental flexibility, mindfulness, acceptance, and a commitment to life-affirming behavior change. ACT encourages us to adaptively and creatively change our relationship with thoughts and feelings rather than fighting, fleeing, or feeling guilty for them.