Individual Therapy

Individual therapy involves one client and one therapist. Individual therapy usually involves a one 50-minute session per week. The overall length of treatment is determined by client goals. This form of therapy offers the most attention to individual concerns.

Individual therapy issues include:

    • Anger Management
    • Anxiety Disorders (including social phobias, avoidant personality)
    • Borderline Personality Disorder
    • Depression
    • Dissociative Identity Disorder
    • Eating Disorders
    • Grief & Loss
    • Life Adjustment Issues
    • Addictions (cognitive-behavioral AA 12-step support)
    • Panic Disorders
    • Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
    • Stress Management
    • War Trauma (specifically, second-generation Holocaust survivors & US military personnel)

Reference Pages:

  • The Nature of Therapy
  • What to Expect in the Initial Session
  • Confidentiality and Limitations
  • Individual Therapy - AVAILABILITY

Family Therapy

The family therapy that I conduct is primarily couples therapy. My focus on couples is based upon the healthy structural alignments, boundaries, and power within the family leadership dyad. At times, family therapy is conducted with as many members of the family as needed. Family therapy usually involves a one 90-minute session per week. The overall length of treatment is determined by goals. This form of therapy offers attention to identifying maladaptive or destructive interactional patterns as well as fostering family cohesiveness through improvements in communication and problem solving skills.

My family and couples work is based upon Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), an experiential, attachment theory of therapy. EFT is a short term (8-20 sessions), structured approach to couples therapy formulated in the early 80's by Dr. Sue Johnson and Dr. Les Greenberg. EFT is also used with families. A substantial body of research outlining the effectiveness of EFT now exists. Research studies find that 70-75% of couples move from distress to recovery and approximately 90% show significant improvements.

Contraindications: The major contraindiction for EFT is on-going violence in the relationship.

Family therapy issues include:

    • Family Lifecycle Issues
    • Couples Issues
    • Prenatal Parenting Prep
    • Infant Sleep and Developmental Issues
    • Toddler Behavior Issues
    • Mindful Parenting

Reference Pages:

Group Therapy

Adult Groups

Adult group therapy is conducted with at least five (5) and up to eight (8) members. Group therapy usually involves a one 90-minute group session per week. The overall length of individual participation in group treatment is determined by individual client goals. This form of therapy offers:

  • attention to identifying maladaptive or destructive interpersonal patterns as well as providing opportunities for it's members to experience corrective emotional experiences,
  • integrative group treatment for various traumas and disorders to aid in recovery, and/or
  • group support for unique life issues.

Group therapy is a process and as such, some group sessions focus on processing here-and-now material while other sessions serve to provide psychoeducational opportunities for growth.

Group therapy issues include:

    • Childhood Abuse & Trauma
    • Brief symptom-specific Therapy
    • Contemporary Woman's Issues
    • Interpersonal (Human) Relations based on Gerald Egan's HR groups
    • Mothers on Career Sabbatical (children ages 0-4)
    • Share the Care Groups (community-based care networks)
    • Stress Reduction
    • Living in the Power of Now (Mindful Living) based on Eckhert Tolle's work

Clinical Meditation Groups

Clinical meditation group is conducted with at least eight (8) and up to twenty-five (25) members. These meditation groups usually involve a one 90-minute session per week. Clinical meditation is offered for a variety of health reasons to include: pain management, anxiety and depression, stress reduction, and increase awareness and self-control. These groups are modeled on the work of John Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts.

The overall length of individual participation in a meditation group is eight weeks. This form of group focuses on mind-body meditation, not spiritual meditation, and follows the following general outline:

  • an opening 20-minute group meditation which focuses on breathing, body scan and relaxation, and centering consciousness,
  • a 30-minute didactic (lesson) or group discussion,
  • a 5-minute break,
  • a 15-minute group discussion,
  • a closing 20-minute group meditation which focuses again on centering consciousness.

Note: Participation in a clinical meditation group requires a commitment to two 20-minute personal meditation sessions each day and a therapeutic referral. Evening meditation can be skipped on the day of group night.

Contraindications: Clinical mediation groups are contraindicated for clients suffering from Dissociative Disorders, psychosis or experience other difficulties with reality-testing.

Reference Pages: