“There is only one thing I can do, listen to people, see how they stick themselves into the world…”
My approach
My primary approach to therapy is psychoanalytic. I have completed postgraduate training as a psychoanalyst. Psychoanalysts are licensed mental health professionals, such as psychiatrists, psychologists, or social workers, who supplement their clinical education with subsequent training in psychoanalysis. This training is intensive, consisting of several years of coursework, personal analysis, and experience providing psychoanalysis under the supervision of experienced analysts.
Psychotherapy
In psychoanalytic psychotherapy, I meet with patients one to three times per week with the aim of creating a relationship within which they may explore recurring patterns of thinking, feeling, and relating. Over time, we come to understand the unconscious dynamics that hold these patterns in place.
I believe that every individual comes to therapy with a need to be understood and to deepen their understanding of themselves. We all experience powerful emotions whose origins may be mysterious to us. There are areas of our lives that are confusing, overwhelming, or lacking in vitality. These struggles may be deeply private and not fully understandable, even to ourselves.
My approach is to create a therapeutic relationship that may provide a container in which these private feelings can emerge and be explored. In my experience, as self-understanding deepens, genuine psychological change becomes possible, and the capacity to genuinely learn from one's experience develops.
Additionally, I have substantial clinical experience and additional training in the psychotherapy of borderline and narcissistic personality disorders. I continue to receive ongoing consultation from national experts in this area and offer Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) as a treatment. TFP is a structured, evidence-supported treatment based on examining the internal representations of relationships that shape contemporary experience. Research supports TFP as an effective treatment for borderline personality disorder, with demonstrated improvements in symptoms, emotional regulation, self-reflection, and capacity for relationships.
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a specialized and intensive form of psychotherapy. In psychoanalysis, I meet with the patient three to five times each week. The patient often makes use of the reclined position on the analytic couch. This allows the patient to relax into speaking with the least possible restraint and to express himself or herself in a freely associative manner.
The safety and intensity of the therapeutic relationship that results from such unrestricted expression and frequent contact creates a setting in which conscious and unconscious emotional experience may be explored with maximum depth. This intensity creates an environment in which insight may be deeply experienced in a way that goes beyond an intellectual understanding.
Psychopharmacology
I typically provide medication management services only for patients that I see in weekly or more intensive psychotherapy. At any given time, it is typical that approximately half of my patients are on medications. My experience using antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and mood stabilizers allows me to help patients who require immediate relief while I shape the treatment as it unfolds over time. My goal is to use the least amount of medication necessary to sustain well-being.
Consultation
I provide case consultation to therapists. Particular areas of interest include structural personality diagnosis, psychoanalytic and psychotherapeutic technique, combining psychiatric and psychotherapeutic management, and establishing a private practice.