01.
My main work is with individuals. One on one, we will examine your presenting problems, formulate goals together, and apply evidence-based cognitive-behavioral and psychodynamic interventions (link to “My Philosophy of Psychotherapy”), both during sessions and throughout your interim periods between our meetings.
02.
Addiction can be an immense source of pain, loneliness, and despair for both the addicted individuals themselves and their loved ones. My approach to these complex problems is two-pronged. First, I am informed by the work of psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Lance Dodes, who posits that all addictions (whether to psychoactive substances, behaviors like overeating or impulsive shopping, compulsive sex or pornography use, and so forth) operate on similar psychological drives for seeking control over and relief of overwhelming feelings of helplessness or emotional vulnerability. I supplement this insight-oriented approach with mindfulness-based skills from cognitive-behavioral and dialectical-behavior therapy for coping with cravings or strong negative emotions in the moment. Treatment involves working primarily one-on-one, though I may advise, with your permission, that we bring family members who have closely seen and been affected by your addiction to a limited number of sessions in order to broaden understanding of your problem and recruit their support in your recovery.
03.
These sessions are for married couples or those otherwise in a serious and committed relationship. I work from an Integrative Behavioral Couples Therapy perspective (link to “My Philosophy of Psychotherapy”), an evidenced-based theoretical orientation based on experiential learning, emotional acceptance, and mindfulness. The first three sessions of any couples case consist of assessment: I meet initially with both of you to hear how you view the positives and negatives of your relationship, then with each of you individually to understand your personal history and go deeper into the view from your position. Ideally, these three sessions would occur in the first two weeks of our work. Finally, a fourth session would consist of my feedback and explaining my working hypothesis, followed by our collaborative goal formation for the work going forward.
04.
Psychotherapy can seem like an alienating place for men: many men fear they will be blamed for their problems, misunderstood in their intentions, or expected to process emotions in a way they may experience as uncomfortable or humiliating. Yet as our society has changed culturally, economically, and socially in recent decades, many men find themselves afflicted with sex-specific problems of aimlessness, nihilism, and a sense that they cannot — or even don’t wish to — reach the milestones or adhere to the norms society seems to expect of them. As a male therapist with a history of working with men in different settings, creating a comfortable and intelligible therapeutic space for men’s issues is one of my specialities.
05.
My preference is to work in person when possible, as I believe the face-to-face human presence, the ‘therapeutic frame’ of setting aside a separate physical space, and the ability to use in-person movement, diagrams, and writing are important contributors to the efficacy of my work. But exceptions apply when logistics, health, or other factors make regular in-person sessions impractical.
