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Perhaps you want to expand your life, have richer and less problematic relationships, do work that is more gratifying and more engaging of your creativity. In short, you want a better life, and it's begun to feel as if time is passing you by. In therapy, you and I will work together so you may develop the courage to stand behind yourself, while also enjoying intimate relationships. We will find ways of listening to your deepest voice. The goal is to help you gain inner freedom--the freedom to be yourself, to love genuinely, and to do your best work.
Incessant self-questioning and self-doubt can be exhausting. How do we change the attitudes and patterns that keep us stuck?
Contemporary brain science has brought a lot to the therapy table. We now know how to teach people, through their own mental efforts, how to change the structure of their brains so that it can begin to function in new and healthier ways.
Consider these negative, or self-doubting ideas:
I'm too old to be single.
I'm too self conscious to take a dance class (or work out in a gym).
I've missed my chance in life.
I don't look good enough to attract someone.
These are false thoughts, and people spend years of their lives believing them. Even when they know they're dysfunctional and rob them of joy in life, they're convinced these negative ideas are impossible to get rid of.
They're not. We have many new techniques and methodologies to help patients change their negative negative thought processes and begin feeling about themselves in entirely new ways. One method that I use with my patients is called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing). Big mouthful, I know, but it's actually a very straight forward way of helping people re-process their negative thinking.
During EMDR therapy the patient attends to emotionally disturbing material in brief doses while simultaneously focusing on an external stimulus. I use an audio device that produces pleasant tones (they go back and forth from the left ear to the right, via headphones.) The patient listens to the tones while thinking about a fear or an unpleasant or even frightening experience. Every minute or so I check in to see how the patient is feeling and what she or he is thinking. This way we can both monitor what's happening in the patient's mind . We can also introduce new and more positive ways of thinking about the material the brain is working on. In my practice I've found that EMDR can produce marked mental/emotional improvement in a relatively brief period of time.
Sometimes the effects of trauma make it hard to trust others. Sometimes depression drains us of emotional energy. I am trained to treat trauma, anxiety and depression. The patient's ability to feel safe in my office comes first. We work together in an atmosphere of warmth and calm. This is the patient's journey. I will listen deeply to your words and feelings and perceptions, and help us toward a deeper understanding of who you are and where you want to be in life.
Blending conventional and alternatives approaches to therapy, I draw on a variety of styles and techniques, incorporating what is most helpful to the individual. EMDR is one tool I use. I also teach patients special breathing techniques for calming anxiety and being able to regulate their emotions. Once they've learned different mindfulness techniques people become able to regulate overwhelming or flooding emotions, whether it be fear, or rage, or irritability, or sadness. It's very empowering when the brain can tame emotions.
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