Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
The purpose of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy is to help you understand and resolve underlying issues to emotional suffering. You'll learn to express feelings, beliefs, motivations, hopes and fears in the context of an active therapeutic relationship. I believe that difficulties in life and self-defeating behaviors are partially created outside of our conscious awareness and may be related to earlier life experience. Psychodynamic psychotherapy, as I practice it today at New Leaf Counseling is quite different from the stereotypical image of working with a silent analyst who sits out of sight and doesn’t reveal their thoughts or feelings. My clinical work is informed by contemporary models that stress interaction in the therapy relationship while exploring the impact your past has on your present.
Relational Psychotherapy
As a Relational Psychotherapist I believe that satisfying interpersonal relationships create emotional well-being. At its core, relational psychotherapy explores how old and current relational experiences have brought about distress and low self esteem. Working in an affirming and collaborative atmosphere with me, you will experience a vitalizing relationship that is esteem building and helps you make better choices. Included in this approach is a serious consideration of the impact of social issues such as race, class, culture, gender and sexual orientation, how they are present in your life and in the therapy relationship. This thinking is an alternative to the classical view that biological urges and the Oedipus complex are the basis of psychic structure.
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy is an approach to counseling that emphasizes the idea that our thoughts affect our feelings and behaviors. As such, if we can change our thinking we can feel better and avoid unhealthy behaviors. At New Leaf Counseling I use cognitive-behavioral techniques and active problem solving so that you can start feeling better right away. This allows you to solve current problems while giving you the freedom to look back and work through the roots of your distress.
Substance Abuse Counseling and Harm Reduction Psychotherapy
Substance Abuse Counseling and Harm Reduction Psychotherapy help people who are experiencing problems with substance use, abuse or dependence. The emphasis is on the discrepancy between where you are at with your using and where you want to be. If no change is desired, I'll help you reduce the potential harm caused by substance use. Understanding that motivation for change fluctuates from day to day, I'll stay focused on assessing today’s level of desire for change and shape interventions appropriately. Substance abuse counseling and harm reduction psychotherapy emphasize health and wellness and may include educational, cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic components.
Addiction Recovery Therapy
Addiction Recovery Therapy helps people who are in the process of recovery from substance abuse or other behavior based addictions such as gambling, sex addiction, compulsive debting, eating disorders and shopping or hoarding addictions. Addiction Recovery Therapy is a powerful adjunct to community based self help programs for those who have chosen a 12-step based recovery. As an Addiction Recovery Specialist I understand the dynamics of the steps, traditions and concepts of groups such as AA, NA, CA, CMA, SCA, DA, OA and GA.