Counseling

My therapy approach is spiritual, encourages self confrontation and personal responsibility, and goes to the deep and dark places we need to go, to unearth where you are stuck.

Spiritual Approach

Influenced by Eastern Orthodox theology, I view the counseling process to be a relational experience in which a person becomes more fully human (free, truthful, unique, and connected to others). I am open to praying together and discussing scripture but strongly believe that this needs to only occur if it is something you would appreciate. I also have a Masters in Divinity and believe that striving to love is the most important way I want to be in all my interactions. I was raised Jewish. My family and upbringing exposed me to both reform Judaism and Chassidic traditions. In my mid 20’s my mom became a Tibetan Buddhist. I have attended retreats with her, have read Buddhist books, and have had many long dharma conversations. Because of all of these influences on my life, I have come to appreciate how each person comes in to my office and I am able to look at life with a broader base.

Couples Counseling

I have chosen the Crucible® Approach as the model I follow when working with couples. I have studied this approach for over 15 years. Here are a few of my views from this approach. All couples have sexual struggles. Sexual struggles are the deepest reflection of every struggle in the relationship and when looked at closely, allow for us to grow in ways that only this type of conflict creates. In this approach, you realize your gratitude for your inevitable struggles and how the working out of these struggles allows you to live into being uniquely you. The Crucible® Approach teaches you how to maintain your sense of self while staying connected to your partner both in and out of bed. We will work together to create a vibrant relationship, which has both security and mystery.

Clinical Supervision

As your clinical supervisor, I would be preparing you to be a licensed therapist for the state of Washington. I am an approved supervisor for the state of Washington. Our time together would include weekly appointments, a good understanding of how to resolve ethical dilemmas as they arise, on-going updates to changes in the WAC (ethical code), a deeper understanding into your own challenges, how to set and achieve personal goals, excellent resources, specialized supervision around complex trauma, personality disorders, adolescent counseling, and couples counseling, how to create self care, how to build a private practice, and how to build rapport with your clients.

Therapeutic Approach

With adolescents I may incorporate games, art therapy, physical activity, roll plays and movie clips. I primarily use a neurobiological differentiation based approach to therapy: EMDR, LifeSpan Integration, DBT, CIMBS, and Mind Mapping (Crucible) to heal trauma. These approaches create brain change in a way that significantly allows people to be less triggered, less likely to react impulsively verses responding thoughtfully.

As a therapist, I work alongside teachers, school counselors, coaches, religious leaders, doctors, and families.