Psychotherapy

Which form of therapy is best for me?

There are many theoretical perspectives on psychotherapy, and research is clear that the “best” approach depends on the unique qualities and circumstances of the client, their problem in living, their personal resources, and other factors. I approach each individual with whom I work as distinctive, selecting the best available empirically-validated approach for our work together.

Having said that, I most frequently employ certain complementary and well-documented theoretical perspectives in my work with clients, including:

Cognitive-behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Cognitive-behavioral therapy is based on the notion that troubling emotions stem directly from irrational or destructive beliefs that a person holds about themselves and about the world. Those troubling emotions in turn can lead to dysfunctional behavior, as a person acts in response to a persistent misperception of their situation.

In general CBT centers on the “ABCs”:

  • Identifying the Antecedents of a maladaptive response

  • Critiquing the irrational Beliefs triggered by those antecedent events or memories

  • Recognizing the emotional Consequences of those beliefs

Interpersonal psychotherapy

While CBT offers a powerful set of tools for many of the problems in living that people confront, I find that IPT provides an equally powerful and complementary perspective. IPT focuses on the ingrained interpersonal factors that cause and maintain the cognitive and behavioral habits that CBT identifies.

In brief, many of the dysfunction patterns we have learned in our life have been learned in the context of relationship, both past and present. Our behavior is shaped by the behaviors of others as they respond to us. Conversely, our patterns of behavior as we deal with others inevitably shape their responses to us. IPT offers practical way to understand this mutual shaping process, particularly as we experience it together in the context of the therapeutic relationship.

Health psychology training strategies.

Behavioral medicine techniques such as neurofeedback, biofeedback, relaxation training, and in vivo desensitization are a significant empirically-proven resource for those who are dealing with stress-related conditions.

Depending on your own presenting issues, goals and preferences, these tools may be an important part of your treatment plan.