Therapeutic Interventions

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, or ACT, is a mindfulness-based approach that helps people build a more flexible and meaningful life by learning to accept difficult thoughts and feelings rather than constantly fighting or avoiding them. In ACT, the focus isn’t on trying to “get rid of” anxiety, sadness, or negative thoughts—but on changing your relationship to those experiences so they have less power over your actions. 

Through therapy, you’ll learn skills to be more present (mindfulness), recognize unhelpful thinking patterns without getting stuck in them (cognitive diffusion), and make room for uncomfortable emotions without being overwhelmed by them (acceptance). At the same time, we’ll clarify your core values—the things that truly matter to you—and help you take committed, purposeful actions that align with those values, even when challenges arise. ACT teaches that you can live a rich and meaningful life not by avoiding pain, but by building the strength to move forward alongside it. The process is highly collaborative and focuses on developing skills you can use long after therapy ends.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a structured, evidence-based approach that helps individuals understand how their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interconnected. The core idea is that how we think affects how we feel and act, and by identifying and changing unhelpful patterns, we can improve our emotional well-being and day-to-day functioning.

In therapy, we begin by identifying the specific problems or concerns that are most impacting your life—such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, or stress. Together, we explore how these issues show up in your thoughts and behaviors. A key part of CBT involves recognizing automatic negative thoughts, such as “I’m not good enough” or “Something bad will happen,” and learning to evaluate their accuracy. Rather than replacing them with overly positive thinking, we work to develop more balanced, realistic perspectives that support emotional resilience.

CBT also focuses heavily on behavior. We look at what you may be avoiding or doing that reinforces negative patterns—like procrastination, isolation, or reassurance-seeking—and introduce gradual, manageable steps to change those behaviors. Over time, these small shifts in behavior can have a big impact on mood and confidence.

A major part of the process is learning and practicing new skills. CBT is practical and hands-on, so you may receive worksheets, journaling prompts, or small assignments between sessions to reinforce what you’re learning. Skills might include managing worry, improving sleep, setting boundaries, or navigating difficult conversations. Therapy is collaborative, meaning we’ll check in regularly to track what’s working and adjust the approach to fit your evolving needs and goals.

Ultimately, CBT empowers you with tools that you can use well beyond therapy. It helps you become more aware of your patterns, take control of your responses, and build confidence in facing life’s challenges with clarity and intention.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy, or DBT, is a structured, skills-based approach that helps people manage intense emotions, reduce impulsive behaviors, and improve relationships. It was originally developed for individuals struggling with chronic emotion dysregulation—such as those with borderline personality disorder, self-harm behaviors, or suicidality—but it’s now widely used for a variety of challenges including anxiety, depression, trauma, and relationship difficulties. 

In DBT, the core idea is learning to hold two seemingly opposite truths at once—for example, “I’m doing the best I can” and “I can do better.” Therapy focuses on four key skill areas: mindfulness (learning to be present and observe emotions without judgment), distress tolerance (getting through crises without making things worse), emotion regulation (understanding and managing emotional reactions), and interpersonal effectiveness (communicating clearly and setting boundaries while preserving relationships). 

In session, we work on applying these skills to real-life situations, building insight around emotional and behavioral patterns, and practicing new responses. DBT also places a strong emphasis on validation—acknowledging your pain and experience—while also encouraging growth and change. Depending on your needs, DBT may include individual therapy, skills group, phone coaching, or between-session support. The process can be challenging, especially if emotions feel overwhelming, but over time, clients typically gain more stability, control, and self-respect in how they navigate their internal world and relationships.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured, evidence-based therapy designed to help people process and heal from traumatic or distressing life experiences that are “stuck” in the brain and body. Unlike traditional talk therapy, EMDR doesn’t require you to go into detail about the event; instead, it helps the brain reprocess those memories in a way that reduces their emotional charge and impact. 

The process starts with preparation and education—we make sure you have grounding and coping skills in place before touching any difficult material. When you're ready, we identify a specific memory or issue to target, and use bilateral stimulation (usually eye movements, tapping, or sounds) while you briefly focus on the memory and your thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations around it. This stimulation helps the brain “digest” the memory—similar to how the brain processes information during REM sleep—so it can be stored in a more adaptive and less distressing way. 

EMDR also integrates positive beliefs and self-perceptions as part of the healing process. Over time, people often find that memories that once felt overwhelming lose their intensity, and they’re able to respond to current situations with more clarity and calm. EMDR can be especially effective for PTSD, anxiety, grief, medical trauma, and childhood experiences, and the process is always paced carefully and collaboratively to ensure you feel safe and in control.

Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) is a therapeutic approach commonly used to treat impulse disorders and other anxiety-related conditions. It’s a structured, evidence-based treatment that focuses on gradually confronting the things that trigger anxiety or distress—without engaging in the usual compulsive behaviors or avoidance strategies that might provide short-term relief but ultimately maintain the anxiety over time.

The process of ERP involves exposing you to the thoughts, situations, or sensations that cause you distress—but in a safe and controlled way. We start with less intimidating triggers and work our way up, gradually building your tolerance. This step-by-step approach helps you learn that your fears, while very real, are not as dangerous as they seem. You’ll also be encouraged not to perform any compulsive actions (like checking, washing, or counting) in response to the distressing thoughts or feelings. This is called response prevention, and it's crucial because it helps break the cycle of reinforcement that keeps the anxiety and compulsions alive.

Throughout the process, we’ll work closely together to monitor your progress, adjust the exposures as needed, and help you build coping skills for managing anxiety in a healthier, more adaptive way. ERP is based on the principle that by confronting your fears gradually and not responding with compulsive behaviors, your anxiety will naturally decrease over time, allowing you to feel more in control and less ruled by your obsessions.

ERP can be challenging at times, as it requires you to face discomfort, but it's an incredibly effective way to regain control of your life. The goal of therapy is to reduce the intensity of your anxiety and compulsions, ultimately helping you live more freely without being driven by fear.

Exposure Therapy is a highly effective, evidence-based approach used to treat anxiety-related conditions, such as phobias, panic disorder, social anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and impulse disorders. The core idea is simple but powerful: by gradually and safely confronting the things you fear or avoid, you can reduce anxiety over time and regain control of your life.

In therapy, we’ll work together to create a personalized plan that identifies the specific fears or triggers you want to address. You’ll never be forced into something you’re not ready for. Instead, we’ll use a step-by-step approach—called a hierarchy—where we begin with situations that cause mild anxiety and slowly work up to more challenging ones. This process allows your brain and body to learn that these feared situations are not as dangerous or overwhelming as they feel.

The “exposure” part involves intentionally facing these fears in a controlled and supportive environment. The goal isn’t to get rid of anxiety completely in the moment, but to learn that you can handle discomfort without avoiding it or engaging in unhelpful coping behaviors. Over time, with repeated exposure, the intensity of the anxiety usually decreases—a process called habituation.

We’ll also look at the thoughts and beliefs connected to the fear and work on shifting any that are unhelpful or inaccurate. As you gain confidence, you’ll begin to experience more freedom and flexibility in your daily life, and the fear will no longer feel like it’s in charge.

Exposure Therapy can feel challenging at first, but it’s done at your pace, and you’ll never go through it alone. The process is designed to empower you—to help you reclaim parts of your life that anxiety may have taken away.

Internal Family Systems (IFS) is a therapeutic approach that views the mind as made up of different parts or subpersonalities—each with its own thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and behaviors. Think of it like an internal family, where different parts of you may take on different roles, such as a protective part, a vulnerable part, or a part that carries pain from past experiences. These parts may sometimes be in conflict with each other, leading to feelings of confusion, stress, or inner turmoil.

In IFS, we don’t view these parts as “problems” or “symptoms” to be fixed—instead, we approach them with curiosity and compassion, understanding that each part has a positive intention, even if its way of functioning isn’t always helpful. For example, a part of you might be acting out of fear and trying to protect you, but its actions might cause you anxiety or prevent you from connecting with others. Through IFS, we help you get to know these parts, understand their roles, and create more harmony between them.

The process of IFS begins by helping you connect with your Self—the calm, compassionate, wise, and grounded part of you that is always there, no matter how chaotic your inner experience may feel. From this centered place, we gently begin to explore your parts and their needs. The goal is to build relationships with each part, help them feel understood and validated, and work toward healing any wounded parts that may be carrying pain or trauma.

As we work together, you’ll learn to unblend from the more reactive parts of yourself, so that you can make choices from a place of calm and clarity. We’ll also work on helping your parts develop healthier ways of relating to one another and to you, creating more balance and emotional integration. Ultimately, IFS helps you develop a greater sense of internal harmony and self-compassion, allowing you to navigate life’s challenges with a deeper understanding of yourself.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy, or IPT, is a structured, time-limited approach that focuses on how your relationships and social experiences affect your mental health—especially your mood. The central idea is that symptoms like depression, anxiety, or grief don’t just happen in isolation; they often show up in the context of life transitions, role changes, unresolved grief, or conflicts in important relationships. In IPT, we work together to identify which of these interpersonal areas might be contributing to your distress right now.

The therapy process starts with understanding your current symptoms and mapping out recent or ongoing changes in your relationships or life roles—like becoming a parent, going through a breakup, losing someone, or struggling with communication. From there, we choose a focus area and begin exploring how it's affecting your emotions, behavior, and sense of self. Therapy then supports you in developing skills like improving communication, navigating conflict more effectively, setting boundaries, expressing emotions more clearly, or adjusting to a new life role or identity.

IPT is typically short-term (often around 12–16 sessions) and goal-oriented. It’s grounded in the belief that when we improve the quality of our relationships and social supports, our mental health improves too. The process is collaborative and focused on the here-and-now—not digging into the past unnecessarily, but helping you feel more connected, supported, and empowered in your current life.

Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention to the present moment—on purpose and without judgment. In therapy, we use mindfulness to help you become more aware of your thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations as they arise, rather than getting caught up in them or trying to push them away. The goal isn’t to clear your mind or avoid difficult feelings, but to learn how to relate to your inner experience with more curiosity, kindness, and stability.

In sessions, we may explore simple mindfulness exercises such as breath awareness, body scans, or observing thoughts like passing clouds. We practice noticing what’s happening in the moment—especially during stress, anxiety, or pain—so you can respond thoughtfully instead of reacting automatically. Over time, this builds emotional regulation, reduces reactivity, and creates space between stimulus and response. Mindfulness also helps you develop compassion for yourself and others, especially when you're navigating difficult or overwhelming moments.

Therapy provides a safe place to explore what mindfulness feels like for you, how it can support your specific challenges, and how to apply it in everyday life—in conversations, decision-making, parenting, rest, or simply being with your own thoughts. You don’t have to be “good” at mindfulness to benefit from it—it’s a skill you can build gently, moment by moment, with support.

Psychodynamic therapy is a deeper, insight-oriented approach that focuses on helping you understand how your past experiences—especially early relationships and unconscious patterns—may be influencing your present thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. The idea is that we all carry internal patterns we may not fully recognize, and these patterns can shape how we relate to ourselves and others, sometimes in ways that cause distress or keep us stuck.

In therapy, we create a safe, consistent space where you can explore your inner world at your own pace. This might include examining recurring relationship dynamics, exploring defenses you’ve developed to cope with painful feelings, or becoming more aware of emotions you’ve learned to avoid. As you talk freely and reflect on your experiences, I’ll help you notice connections between your past and present, especially in how you relate to others—including me, as your therapist. Sometimes what comes up in the therapy relationship mirrors other relationships in your life, giving us a real-time opportunity to understand and work through those patterns.

The goal isn’t quick symptom relief, but long-term emotional growth, increased self-awareness, and a more integrated sense of self. Over time, this process can lead to a greater understanding of your needs, healthier relationships, and a stronger sense of agency in how you navigate life. It’s a slower, richer form of therapy that prioritizes depth, curiosity, and lasting change.

Schema Therapy is an integrative form of therapy that focuses on helping you understand and heal deep, long-standing patterns or “schemas” that developed in childhood and continue to influence how you think, feel, and behave in adulthood. These schemas are formed based on early life experiences and often reflect unmet emotional needs, trauma, or negative beliefs about yourself and others. For example, you might have a schema that says, “I’m unworthy of love,” or “The world is unsafe.” These schemas can lead to repeated patterns of emotional distress, unhealthy relationships, or self-sabotage.

In therapy, we begin by identifying your core schemas and understanding how they developed. We’ll explore your past experiences, particularly in childhood, to see how these beliefs were formed. For example, you might have learned to believe that others can’t be trusted because of neglect or rejection, or that you’re not capable due to early criticism or failure. By uncovering these deep-rooted beliefs, we can start to challenge them and replace them with healthier, more adaptive ways of thinking.

The therapeutic process in Schema Therapy is structured and involves both cognitive and experiential techniques. We’ll work together to identify and challenge the negative thoughts or behaviors related to your schemas, as well as explore how they show up in your current relationships, emotions, and choices. We also use experiential techniques, such as role-playing, imagery, and even “chair work,” to help you emotionally process past wounds and create new, more positive experiences.

One of the unique aspects of Schema Therapy is the emphasis on the therapeutic relationship itself. You may have experienced difficulties in relationships throughout your life, and part of healing involves learning to trust the therapist and experience a healthier, more supportive relationship. This can provide a corrective emotional experience and help you begin to challenge your schemas in real time.

The goal of Schema Therapy is to help you develop healthier coping mechanisms, change negative thought patterns, heal emotional wounds, and build a more positive and realistic view of yourself and the world. As you work through your schemas, you’ll gradually build greater emotional resilience, improve your relationships, and create a life that feels more aligned with your true self.