About Psychotherapy

People often come to therapy because they want to feel understood. The world can be very alienating. It is important to have someone who “gets” you, who appreciates you and understands who you are and what you want. You likely also want someone who will tell you the truth, including how you might get in your own way, and how you might stop doing so—to give you the strength and support that you need to make your way.

Trauma is an interruption of normal development—and it leaves us, often, frozen in time. By putting our experiences of trauma into words, we gain more control over them and of ourselves. Mourning—coming to terms with what we’ve missed out on or been robbed of—is often a part of the process. Acknowledging our disappointments can be a way of igniting hope.

Sexuality can be the site of our most intense desires and also most intense traumas—sometimes it can be difficult to disentangle one from the other. Exploring one’s sexuality in therapy can be difficult but also very engaging—a way to learn about and access the most profound aspects of ourselves. Holding the trust necessary to talk about it in therapy is an important part of the work.

Therapy is not just or even primarily about the bad things that have been done to us, or that we do to ourselves. It is also about the resources that give us hope for a better future and the strength to pursue it. Such resources can be creative activities, intellectual pursuits, religion, sport, friendship, and sexual and romantic relationships with others. These resources are idiosyncratic—particular to who we are. A big part of how I work in therapy is to help you discover, protect, and marshal these sources of strength so that they can become an increasingly large and fulfilling part of your life.

Ready to schedule a session? Please reach out.