Clinical Services

Books

First and foremost, I LOVE listening to books. I think they are so helpful to me as a therapist and I have seen my clients benefit from them over and over again. I will absolutely introduce clients to books, however, clients are defintely not required to read them. The biggest benefits I believe my clients receive from picking up even one or two of them are understanding and validation. 

Brainspotting

I started training in brainspotting with Phase I in May of this year and I will be completing Phase II in November. I have also done brainspotting training specifically focused on working with clients who have experienced CPTSD and developmental trauma. Becoming trained in brainspotting is one of the best decisions I have made as a thearpist to help my clients. This approach uses eye positioning to give the brain increased access to the neural networks in the midbrain, so that it can reprocess and release the trauma stored there.  Read more about brainspotting here.

Attachment

Developmental trauma is not a diagnosis in the DSM but there are professionals who are trying to get it added to the diagnostic manual. The first, primary criterion of this type of trauma includes an attachment disruption. An attachment disruptions occurs when caregivers are not able to accurately attune and respond to thier child's needs. When the attunment and/or response to the child's needs is missed, the child's distress increases, and when this happens repeatedly, trust with the caregiver(s) is broken. This results in anxious, avoidant, or disorganized attachment styles rather than a secure attachment to caregivers.

Polyvagal

The longest crainial nerve in the body is the vagus nerve. This nerve has a central role in the functioning of the body's autonomic nervous system. This model is called Polyvagal because bodies are in one of three physiological states--ventral vagal, sympathetic, or dorsal vagal--depending on the adaptive state of the autonomic nervious system. The ventral vagal state represents the parasympatic state which allows one to be his or her true self. Sympatheic is when the sympathetic brach of the nervous system is activated and body enters in to "fight" or "flight" mode. Dorsal vagal is a state of distress that is even more intense than fight or flight and causes the body to shut down and "freeze." The major goal of polyval is to stimulate the vagus nerve in order to re-enter ventral vagal and emotion regulation.

CBT

Cognitive behavioral therapy is an appraoch that focuses on changing thoughts as a way of changing emotions and behaviors and that thoughts, feelings, and emotions are determined by schemas (beliefs about yourself, the world, and the future).

Telehealth has been a great option during a time of isolation and uncertainty. Even prior to the pandemic, however, Telehealth has been a wonderful option for increasing access to mental health and helping clients find the right therapist for them.

Please do:

• Find a quiet, confidential space

• Be alone

• Be at home or in a private office

• Be on time

• Be dressed appropriately

• Be prepapred to share your address

• Avoid places such as the bathroom

• Make sure you have gotten your completed paperwork back to me prior to your first session

Please don’t:

• Be hanging out with friends, family, others

• Try to have your appointment while in another state (I am not licensed in other states)

• Be actively driving (you must be parked or your session will be canceled)

• Ask for a phone session because you're driving or not at home

Extended sessions can be a good fit for clients who:

• tend to feel like they are just getting to the middle when the session it is actually coming to an end

• feel like they tend to have important realizations come to them after their 50-minute session has ended

• would like to incorporate brainspotting as well as talk therapy

• want the extra time but don’t want to have to find more time in their work schedules or someone to watch their kids on an additional day and time

• are experiencing acute trauma symptoms (in that case, there is a whole other phase of learning relaxation techniques, etc. before talking about the trauma even happens!)

• want to build momentum during their first few weeks or months of treatment before stepping down to 50-minute sessions

• prefer the cost savings of every other week 85-min sessions to weekly 50-min sessions

• prefer to have more time in between appointments to process but still want the collective added time of longer sessions (there is only a 30 min difference between 2 extended sessions and 4 regular length sessions)