| My Approach |
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My fundamental goal as a therapist is to support and promote your ability to think, feel and act for yourself in ways that are more satisfying. My work is guided by cognitive behavioral(CBT) and relational therapy. My role is to act as a catalyst for whatever positive changes you wish to make. What is CBT? It is a way of talking about: How you think about yourself, the world and other people. How what you do affects your thoughts and feelings. CBT can help you to change how you think ("Cognitive") and what you do ("Behavior)". These changes can help you to feel better. Unlike some other treatments, it focuses on the "here and now" problems and difficulties, instead of focusing on the causes of your distress or symptoms in the past. It looks for ways to improve your state of mind now. When does CBT help? CBT has been shown to help with many different types of problems. These include: anxiety, depression, panic, phobias (including agoraphobia and social phobia), stress, bulimia, obsessive compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder and psychosis. CBT may also help if you have difficulties with anger, a low opinion of yourself or physical health problems, such as pain or fatigue. How does it work? CBT can help you to make sense of overwhelming problems by breaking them down into smaller parts. This makes it easier to see how they are connected and how they affect you. For example: A Situation - a problem, event or difficult situation Can lead to: Each of these areas can affect the others. How you think about a problem can affect how you feel physically and emotionally. It can also alter what you do about it. There are helpful and unhelpful ways of reacting to most situations, depending on how you think about them. Evidence now supports the effectiveness of CBT for many common mental disorders. Research has led international expert panels to identify CBT as the current “treatment of choice”, “best practices treatment” and “evidence based treatment”. Relational therapy acknowledges and recognizes the human need for connection and the potential for healing that can take place within a trusting, respectful therapeutic relationship. Through the interpersonal process of therapeutic interaction, relational therapy strengthens and transforms a client's sense of self, which in turn enhances his or her confidence and well-being in the world. Empowerment and growth through interpersonal connection are both the process and the goal of relational therapy. My approach is collaborative, respectful and goal oriented. |