Therapeutic Approaches

Emotionally Focused Couples and Individual Therapy (EFT) is an evidence based, effective treatment for couples.  EFT has been found to show significant improvement in 88% of couples treated with EFT.  It is also the only couples therapy approach that is based in a theory of love.  In EFT, it is believed that loving relationships are created when we have a secure attachment with our partner, feeling that our partner is responsive, and that we feel love, accepted, and respected.  When we feel the other is responsive, we feel as though we can turn to our partner to talk about our bad day, that thing they just said that upset us, the sex life, the finances, or anything else. Many couples that come to see me have been to couples therapy before without success, but find the EFT approach to both capture the issues that are occurring, as well as providing a way to change the patterns to develop a closer, more loving relationship.

I have always been interested in relationships –– what makes them work, what doesn’t, why in one instance they can feel so incredible, and in another, they can feel so devastating. Through my own personal and clinical work, I have seen how early family structures impact how we view ourselves and also permeate into our relationships. Attachment theory provides a framework to better understand these impacts, and also a better way to create healthy and meaningful relationships with ourselves and others.

AASECT-certified sex therapists utilize evidence-based therapeutic modalities tailored to address sexual concerns with professionalism and sensitivity. These approaches often integrate cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to address thought patterns affecting sexual function, mindfulness techniques to enhance present-moment awareness and reduce performance anxiety, and psychoeducation to provide accurate information about sexual health and response. Many therapists also incorporate systemic and relational approaches to address communication patterns and intimacy dynamics between partners, along with sensate focus exercises designed to reduce pressure and rebuild sexual connection gradually. Treatment is individualized, affirming of diverse identities and orientations, and focused on helping clients develop healthier relationships with their sexuality while addressing concerns such as desire discrepancies, arousal difficulties, pain, trauma recovery, and intimacy challenges.

EMDR is an evidence-based treatment for trauma that is very effective in helping clients to process and reduce the symptoms associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Its application goes beyond just PTSD, but also to situations where one is reacting disproportionately to the situation.  Whether they are feelings of fear, anger, shame, loss, or another feelings that may be due to a past negative experience, rather than the current situation, EMDR can be effective. One theory is that trauma or negative experience becomes wired in the brain so that it feels like the event has just happened the other day even when it may have happened many years ago.  When the trauma is processed, it is integrated with the rest of the neural system and the fight or flight symptoms that go along with PTSD or that leads to the reactivity are diminished. EMDR works with many traumas such as the loss of a loved one, a sexual assault, child abuse, near death experiences, car accidents, phobias, and many other problems.  EMDR is also used to process less catestrophic traumas, but traumas none the less that may be causing one to be reacting with anxiety or anger (that fight or flight response).  

I integrate parts work and IFS with trauma therapy. Parts work therapy is precisely what it sounds like – a therapeutic approach designed to help patients deal with the different parts of themselves created through chronic trauma, eventually bringing a sense of peace and wholeness to the person. For instance, a therapist might have us begin working through a particularly traumatic memory. Part of us might want the release and relief offered by working through it, but another part interferes with the process to protect us from the threatening emotions that will arise. Most people have different parts of themselves. This does not mean that we have multiple personalities or that everyone suffers from structural dissociation. For instance, when we make a mistake doing something, the voice of our inner critic could sound like a disapproving family member from our past. The critic is part of us, but it is also that family member’s voice, and can also feel separate from the part making the mistake. Chronic trauma is often held within specific parts of ourselves – usually, a “younger” self that is roughly the same emotional age as we were when the trauma occurred. Parts work therapy strives to resolve those memories and ease the emotional burdens, by erasing the lines between the different “parts” of ourselves. Parts work is usually integrated into a specific therapeutic approach. IFS and EMDR are two popular approaches that can both accommodate parts work.

Our personalities are not one-dimensional; they are incredibly complex and made up of many different parts (or “sub-personalities”). This idea is familiar to virtually anyone. After all, we constantly say things like “Part of me wants to socialize, and the other part wants to withdraw,” or “Part of me wants to drink my feelings away, and the other part knows that’s unhealthy.” Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an evidence-based model of therapy that seeks to restore balance and harmony between all of our parts. It explores the many different sub-personalities of the mind and seeks to nurture and deepen their connection to each person’s overall self. Together, the therapist and client work to understand, engage, and reduce destructive parts. The idea is to keep the client’s individual parts from controlling their whole self, allowing them to lead a self-led life.

Item descriptionDeep Brain Reorientation (DBR) is an innovative trauma therapy approach developed by Dr. Frank Corrigan that targets the brainstem's survival responses underlying traumatic symptoms. This modality works by helping clients access and process the primitive fear responses stored in the midbrain—specifically the colliculi and periaqueductal gray—which can remain activated long after a traumatic event. Through gentle guided attention to bodily sensations and orienting responses, DBR helps complete the interrupted defensive reactions that became frozen during trauma, allowing the nervous system to reset and discharge the stuck survival energy. Unlike traditional top-down approaches, DBR works directly with the subcortical structures responsible for automatic threat detection and defensive responses, often producing rapid relief from symptoms like hypervigilance, flashbacks, dissociation, and chronic fear states. This bottom-up approach can be particularly effective for complex trauma, early developmental trauma, and cases where verbal processing alone has been insufficient.

Nonviolent Communication (NVC), developed by psychologist Marshall Rosenberg, is a compassionate communication framework that helps individuals express themselves authentically while fostering deeper connection and understanding with others. This approach teaches people to identify and articulate their observations, feelings, needs, and requests without blame, judgment, or criticism, transforming conflicts into opportunities for empathy and collaboration. NVC operates on the principle that all human actions are attempts to meet universal needs—such as safety, autonomy, connection, or meaning—and that conflicts arise when people use strategies that don't account for everyone's needs. By learning to distinguish observations from evaluations, connect feelings to underlying needs, and make clear requests rather than demands, clients develop skills to navigate difficult conversations, resolve relationship conflicts, set boundaries with compassion, and cultivate self-empathy. This modality is particularly effective for couples therapy, parent-child dynamics, workplace conflicts, and anyone seeking to communicate with greater clarity, authenticity, and emotional intelligence while reducing defensiveness and fostering mutual respect.

The Flash Technique is a recently developed, minimally intrusive therapeutic intervention that allows clients to process traumatic memories without becoming distressed or overwhelmed. Created by Dr. Philip Manfield, this approach differs from traditional trauma therapies by enabling memory reprocessing while clients remain in a positive emotional state, never requiring them to consciously focus on or verbally describe the traumatic content. During a Flash Technique session, clients engage positive imagery or thoughts while briefly "flashing" to the traumatic memory in their peripheral awareness, allowing the brain to desensitize and integrate the material without activating the trauma response. This makes it particularly valuable for clients who are highly avoidant, struggle with emotional regulation, or find traditional exposure-based methods too activating. The technique is efficient, often producing significant symptom reduction in just one or two sessions, and can be used as a standalone intervention or integrated with other trauma therapies like EMDR to prepare clients for deeper processing work.

Gottman Therapy helps couples deepen connection and feel truly understood. We focus on building safety, trust, and clear communication so partners can navigate conflict without fear or blame. Using research-backed methods, we guide couples to recognize and honor each other’s needs while strengthening intimacy. The result is a relationship that feels resilient, supportive, and fully alive.

I’ve been trained up to level 2.