Treatment Options

These are the core ways I work with folks in therapy. I offer each of these modalities to the extent it’s helpful for folks, with no requirement to or not to use any of the methods I have expertise in. Usually each of these is relevant to varying degrees depending on what the therapeutic need is each session; for example, some weeks may lean more somatic, while others have a bigger IFS emphasis. If you know you’re looking for one of these to guide our work, please let me know. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, or if this seems like jargon to you, don’t worry about! I help each of my patients reflect on what helps them individually.

Relational Therapy

Simply put, we’re both people navigating this world together, and the role I take on with my patients is to offer a space where their needs are primary. My personhood is a part of my work, from my cultural identities to my lived experiences, and I use the wisdom of my life to inform how I meet with patients in their experiences of themselves. Therapy with me often reflects on how it is to be heard, and what this type of meeting can offer that makes space for what hasn’t had space yet.

Psychodynamic Therapy

Psychodynamic therapy works with the whole timeline of lived experience to explore where you are, how you got there, and where it seems like you’re headed. Every piece of your life is relevant. As I work with folks, we find insight into how their lives have shaped them, and what could be more flexible than it has been before. You might be surprised what stories from your life bring crucial insight into your healing process.

Somatic Therapy

This can range from check-ins with your body, to full session guided somatic work. As a baseline, you can expect me to ask questions like “is there somewhere in your body that holds that especially?” and “what does your body know that the rest of you has less access to?” As with any treatment, and especially in somatics, consent is central. We work slowly, gently, and deeply, so that we can have a new type of experience, one that does not parallel experiences of harm.

Internal Family Systems

IFS works to identify and relate to ourselves as ‘parts’, and explore what role each part of us is serving in our whole self. IFS with me is making space for each part to be relevant, to explore what needs are trying to be met, and to make space for parts of self that need help integrating. You’ll hear me ask, “what need do you think that part of you is trying to meet?” I believe every part of us belongs; instead of exiling parts of ourselves, we can transform and grow into new ways of being that support ourselves holistically.

Psychoanalysis

My academic training centered on Relational Psychoanalysis: how people experience each other and how those experiences can offer insight into the healing process. Psychoanalysis examines what ‘feels like’ is happening, and seeks to non-judgmentally explore how accurate that perception is. Every relationship you’ve had can offer helpful information into your healing process. This is explored through considering what is consciously known, and considering what may be happening unconsciously as well. In lieu of looking for an ‘objective’ truth, I use psychoanalytic methods to help explore what seems true with as many pieces on the table as possible, to move towards a more expansive understanding of yourself.

Dream Interpretation

I have a special love for dream interpretation. My bias is that there are no objective symbols in dreams, we give ourselves the symbols we know how to recognize. You will know these symbols better than I will, my work is to help you notice. I work with folks to explore what they already know, and get curious about how the story of dreams can be telling us insightful things through the stories we dream.

Gender Affirming Care and Disability Accommodation

My scope of practice includes writing advocacy letters for HRT, gender affirming surgeries, and supportive structures for disability needs.

Psychoeducation

I’ve studied psychology for most of my life, in formal academic settings and in personal study. When relevant, I teach my clients what I know about neurology, nervous system biology, realistic expectations in the healing process, functional coping skills, the psychological effects of marginalization, aiding misconceptions about the psyche, and the psychological research that I’m up to date on.