My Philosophy

Psychotherapy is an active process for both client and therapist. The most important predictor of success in psychotherapy is the establishment of a solid working relationship that offers you the freedom and safety to talk about your experiences and beliefs which may have been previously avoided, unresolved, or considered uncomfortable as topic to discuss with friends, boyfriends / girlfriends or family. As a psychologist, I am dedicated to creating an empathic, safe, and highly confidential “holding environment”. This offers you an opportunity to work on reducing emotional distress and make better personal choices. I am highly dedicated to providing you with a comfortable, supportive, and collaborative therapeutic environment.

I am trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy and psychoanalysis, but my interventions tend to be more influenced by the former. The fields of humanistic and positive psychology have also greatly impacted my approach as a therapist. As a result, when I am asked what my theoretical orientation is, I identify myself as “eclectic”. The truth is that no one orientation is the “the best”. The benefit of my diversified training is that I am able to cater my interventions to meet your unique and specified needs.

I place emphasis on the importance of our beliefs and expectations in determining how we act and why we choose certain paths in life. Even from your first days of life, you are developing a template for how to think and feel about yourself, your relationships, and the world in general. It is essential to recognize the impact of dreams, wishes, daydreams, and other psychological forces that remain just outside of your conscious awareness.

It is also crucial to understand that the processes of altering feelings and thoughts are influenced by factors which do not involve logic or reason. Most people spend a disproportionate amount of time rationalizing and reasoning with the intention of making changes. Decreasing emotional distress is also about changing the meaning you attribute to representations and memories of people, events, and symbols that are significant to you. When you alter the internal image, it can lead to a change in how you view the outer world. Therefore, all of the world can be viewed as a mirror of your internal life. We see in others what we deem important or struggle with in ourselves.

As a psychologist, I focus on personality qualities, internalized images, habits and beliefs that promote resilience. I pay very close attention to using personal strength to compensate for vulnerabilities, and I help clients to position themselves in a way that maximizes opportunities for growth and self-actualization.