WORKING WITH COUPLES
Your most personal relationship is connected to your health and happiness. Past approaches to couples’ work focused on communication strategies and planned conversations. Those strategies only worked for short periods of time. Recent research has shown us that attachment is the key to couples’ work. The lead researcher in this area has been Sue Johnson, Ph.D. Her work and that of many others has led to the development of a therapeutic process for couples that has proven successful Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT) guides the couple through three stages of connection. First, there current dance of connection/misconnection is identified. Second the deeper needs for attachment are discovered. Third, new patterns of meeting each other’s needs are developed. The result is a deeper and stronger relationship. This process is effective with all types of couple relationships and at all stages of the relationship. As a trained EFT therapist, I am honored to work with couples and guide them through this process.
WORKING WITH INDIVIDUALS
When you decide to begin individual work, you step into a relationship of trust and exploration. Individual therapy has taken many paths over the years. Recently we have been able to watch the brain function and learn more about how a sense of self is developed and how life events present challenges and cause us to build ways of protecting ourselves from future harm. A leading researcher in Individual Therapy is Richard Schwartz. His technique of Internal Family Systems has proven to be revolutionary in the field of individual therapy. Together we will examine the thoughts, feelings and behaviors that have laid down pathways in your brain. We will explore the deeper connections in your thinking and feeling that have been causing you distress. My experience in Developmental Psychology and in working with children from nursery school age and up will be used to help you explore how various mental patterns influence your current well-being.
WORKING WITH DIVORCED PARENTS
Parenting in an intact family is a challenge, while co-parenting following a divorce can be a nightmare. As I work with separated and divorced parents, I am focused on using the skills associated with Emotion Focused Family Therapy and Internal Family Systems to help parents develop protocols that strengthen their children and honor the parental responsibilities to raise competent, secure and successful children. I am actively engaged in the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts to both present material that will be helpful to other professionals and to learn from other professionals.
