I treat and approach my patients from a relational psychodynamic framework. In this approach interactions between the therapist and patient serve as a map for understanding internal and interpersonal experiences that keep the individuals feeling stuck in self-defeating patterns. A goal in this type of therapy is to uncover unconscious processes that underlie their patterns of relating and feeling with others. Often these unconscious processes are automatic and swift; meaning they occur without our ability to register cognitively or emotionally what is occurring. A great illustration of this concept was stated eloquently by Carl Jung, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate”.
The unconscious mind monitors what we pay attention to and what we keep out of our conscious awareness, including thoughts, feelings, and desires, for fear that they might cause problems in our relationships with others and ourselves. This knowledge does not come easy for us and is often why individuals seek assistance with a therapist.
Thus, the therapy relationship becomes a social microcosm to explore these processes via interactions between patient and therapist. This type of therapy is more experiential rather than just explanations to a problem. However, no patient I have treated has been treated in the same way. In therapy I attune to the needs you have as an individual, rather than rigidly holding to a therapy template or doctrine. Together we work hard in therapy to find new ways of experiencing your feelings, compulsions, and behaviors, loosening the grip they have had on your life.