What

  is therapy anyways?

My goal as a psychotherapist is to create a safe space whereby building a relationship, unraveling issues, demystifying oneself, voicing hopes and dreams, and developing wisdom and insight, one can emerge from (and exist in) the forest that is life with a deeper understanding of how to navigate oneself and the world around us. 

Life is inherently difficult, and to many, therapy can be a place of comfort in times of crisis or difficult situations. However, while  much of therapy involves a place  to be heard, to those seeking self-actualization, we engage in this process with the aim of equipping you with the tools needed to endure future hardships in an imperfect world where negative experiences and events are outside of our control. We call this "psychological flexibility", and the process to attain it takes work. 

Therapy, in which we seek change, involves bypassing the thoughts, emotions, and stories that have collectively enforced our negative behaviors and consequently created a false concept of who we are. I believe the concept of "who we are" has less to do with our thoughts and history,  but rather more with who we want to be. By committing ourselves to live to our values and goals, despite how difficult they might be, we can live a life that is gratifying, authentic, rich, purposeful, and well-adapted.

Academically, scientific guidelines for success do exists for therapy - cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, psychodynamic therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, etc - all which come with an extensive list of techniques and models that can be summoned upon to work best for different symptoms and issues. However every therapist knows that at the core of psychotherapy, acting as a catalyst for change, is something that can’t be accurately measured – human empathy and unconditional support. It is through this mix of a therapeutic relationship, objective reasoning, and research-based methods, that we can embark in the journey of self-actualization together.

Some of the challenges I help treat are:

Stress, anxiety, depression, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, medication adherence, sexuality & gender, LGBTQ issues, HIV, career struggles, Men's Issues, Immigrant and cultural issues,  low self-esteem, peer relationships, racial and ethnic identity, grief, spirituality, and suicidality

Therapy Models

  • Cognitive-behavioral therapy stresses the role of thinking in how we feel and what we do. It is based on the belief that thoughts, rather than people or events, cause our negative feelings, and that negative experiences can create long lasting subjective beliefs about ourselves.

  • Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) that teaches clients how to stop avoiding, denying, and struggling with their inner emotions and, instead, accept that these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to certain situations that should not prevent them from moving forward in their lives.

  • Psychodynamic therapy seeks resolution by exploring how negative or positive experiences, often in one’s younger years, adhere to one’s subconscious and manifest in present behaviors, beliefs and desires.

  • Internal Family Systems (IFS) is an approach to psychotherapy that identifies and addresses multiple sub-personalities or families within each person’s mental system. These sub-personalities consist of wounded parts and painful emotions such as anger and shame, and parts that try to control and protect the person from the pain of the wounded parts.

  • Jungian therapy is designed to bring together the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind to help a person feel balanced and whole. Jungian therapy calls for clients to look at the “real” self rather than the self they present to the outside world. It utilizes various techniques like dream analysis, archetypal psychology, personal mythologies and active imagination to facilitate this process

  • Hypnotherapy uses exercises that relax people, bringing them to an altered state of consciousness. This process focuses on mastering self-awareness.

  • Unlike traditional psychology that focuses more on the causes and symptoms of mental illnesses and emotional disturbances, positive psychology emphasizes traits, thinking patterns, behaviors, and experiences that are forward-thinking and can help improve the quality of a person's day-to-day life. These may include optimism, spirituality, hopefulness, happiness, creativity, perseverance, justice, and the practice of free will.

  • Mindfulness therapy is a type of psychotherapy that uses mindfulness practices, like meditation and breathing exercises, to help individuals become more aware of their thoughts, feelings, and sensations in the present moment. It aims to cultivate a non-judgmental, accepting attitude towards these experiences, which can help reduce automatic negative responses and promote emotional regulation

  • Strength-based therapy focuses on your internal strengths and resourcefulness, rather than on your weaknesses, failures, and shortcomings. The tenet is that this focus sets up a positive mindset that helps you build on your best qualities, find your strengths, improve resilience, and change your worldview to one that is more positive.

  • Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a structured program of psychotherapy with a strong educational component designed to provide skills for managing intense emotions and negotiating social relationships. Though usually practiced in group settings, DBT research has developed several emotional regulation techniques used in individual therapy.

  • Somatic therapy is a form of body-centered therapy that looks at the connection of mind and body and uses both psychotherapy and physical therapies for holistic healing. In addition to talk therapy, somatic therapy practitioners use mind-body exercises and other physical techniques to help release the pent-up tension that negatively affects a patient’s physical and emotional wellbeing.