Psychotherapy, or talk-therapy, is a powerful treatment for many mental complaints.  It offers benefits of improved interpersonal relationships, stress reduction, and a deeper insight into one’s own life, values, goals, and development.  It requires a great deal of motivation, discipline and work on both parties for a therapeutic relationship to be an effective one.  Clients will have varying success depending on the severity of their complaints, their capacity for introspection, and their motivation to apply what is learned outside of sessions.   

Clients should be aware that the process of psychotherapy may bring about unpleasant memories, feelings, and sensations such as guilt, anxiety, anger, or sadness, especially in its initial phases.  It is not uncommon for these feelings to have an impact on current relationships you may have.  If this occurs, it is very important to address these issues in session.  Usually these unpleasant sensations are short lived.   

Oftentimes a combination of psychotherapy and medication management is optimal (see below).  One of the most important curative aspects of a therapeutic relationship is the goodness-of-fit between therapist and client, so, the initial visit is also your opportunity to determine for yourself if I am the right therapist for you.  If you feel that I am not well matched to your needs, I would be happy to provide you referrals to other mental health professionals.   

• CBT
• Psychodynamic therapy
• Trauma focused therapy