Therapy tends to open us up to inner and outer possibilities in a way few other things do, including change in our relationships, career, and self-concept. If you'd be willing to enter this journey of self-discovery with me, you'll find it has the potential to be the most rewarding journey you'll ever take. I am passionate about helping people recover from trauma. What follows is a brief description of the treatments I offer and then a little snapshot of my therapy philosophy. As you'll see, I have extensive training in treating anxiety disorders and especially trauma.

I specialize in two of the most widely-researched and validated treatments to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Prolonged Exposure (PE). Prolonged Exposure treats trauma by combining in-session and out-of-session exposures to help relieve anxiety and recurring thoughts. If you have both PTSD and more long-term, complex trauma from childhood, then EMDR may be the best fit for you. This therapy combines in-session exposure with positive resourcing that builds you up and empowers you. In addition, EMDR is equipped with protocols to address not only your past, but also the present and future manifestations of past wounds.

Schema therapy is also helpful for complex trauma. This specialized form of cognitive-behavioral therapy helps diagnose and treat personality patterns that lead to disruption in relationships, career, and self-concept. We'll use many research-based techniques to restructure beliefs, as well as imagery and the therapeutic relationship to help you get to the heart of what causes ingrained personality features, modifying them to allow for more helpful thinking, feeling, and behaving.

I am also trained in traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), including exposure and response prevention (EX/RP). CBT is one of the most widely researched treatment frameworks because it does such a good job of offering relief for numerous clinical problems, including obsessive compulsive disorder, irrational fears, panic disorder, poor time management, depression, insomnia, and more. Often it's tough to face our fears, so if you experience profound distress, I will use dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to help you cope better, which rebuilds your confidence in coping with intense feelings.

When we go to a therapist, while of course we want a person who is competent and professional, we are also looking for someone who connects with us on a human level. I think you'll find that's what I do best of all. Every person who comes to my office feels special, valued, and understood, meaning that I relate to you person to person, not bookish professional to client. Additionally, I believe strongly that there is a spiritual dimension that affects each of us, from which we can derive a sense of direction, purpose, growth, and safety. So, you can expect me to ask you to share about your faith in God and your relationship with his people, and how that has helped or hindered you.

Video consultation is very easy to set up and is available upon request! Please call or email me for a video consultation today: (240) 583-0351.