Psychology Today lists 50 different types of individual therapy! And Couple’s therapy- over 20 (Aaaahhhh! Insert overwhelm here).
This section will help with all that. It will tell you about my services- Individual Therapy and relationship therapy. It includes what I use to help you and how therapy together will work (insert relieving breath here).
Individual Virtual Therapy
Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Relational Gestalt (RG) are the guiding types of therapy I use. There are other types I am trained and experienced in, such as Somatic Therapy, Systems theory, and social justice (and these can be powerfully blended in) and IFS and GR are the strong foundation we’ll stand on. Here’s a quick snapshot of each…
Relational Gestalt. With RG, we work together with what is happening for you right now to understand your experiences and how they interact with your life and relationships. Our relationship itself is super important- it acts like a reflection for how you relate to the world and provides an opportunity to explore patterns of thought, feeling, and behavior. The goal is to increase self-awareness, invite emotional growth, and develop more satisfying ways of engaging in your life.
Internal Family Systems. Have you ever noticed yourself having a conversation with yourself? Or ever felt “of two minds” about something (I want to go to thing; I don’t want to go to the thing)? It’s like you have different parts of you- a chill part, an anxious one; a silly part and a wise one; a wounded part and a powerful one, etc. IFS aims to help you get to know your parts, learn their “why” and build a relationship with them that is collaborative, confident, courageous, creative and Self-led. This allows you to feel more balanced, confident, alive, and at peace with yourself and your relationships. It’s like getting your inner crew on the same page (your page) and really taking this therapy thing to a deeper level.
How Individual Therapy Works
- Getting Grounded and Connected. During the first sessions, we get to know you and what brought you here, collaborate on goals, and build the brave relationship we need to meet them.
- Tracking, un-blending, and In-Sight. Now we use what’s happening in life to notice your parts in action (like watching members of a team play). This is tracking. Once we get a sense of who’s there, we un-blend and build In-Sight with these parts. This is like having a conversation with them, getting to know them and why they do what they do (to keep going with the team metaphor, what position do they play- offense, defense, injured reserve- and why).
- Self-leadership, Unburdening, and Collaboration. With all the progress we’ve made, we now focus on letting go of the harsh beliefs, extreme emotions, and painful experiences our parts have operated from (unburdening), re-align them with jobs that feel true to you and what you want from life, and deepen your internal connections so they trust your leadership and support as life keeps happening (collaboration and Self-leadership).
Online Relationship Therapy
My license title is Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. So it’s no surprise that my education and expertise is in relationships, especially the closest, most impacting ones we have.
The foundation of how we work together comes from Intimacy from the Inside Out (IFIO). It’s main ingredients come from Internal Family Systems (IFS) psychotherapy and includes aspects of psychodynamic theory, systems thinking and neuroscience (yes, some of those from that long list I mentioned).
In a snapshot, there are two beliefs we start from- 1) our relationships with ourselves impact our relationships with others, and relationships with others impact our relationship with ourselves and 2) we all have resilience, self -love and self-regulation (even though we don’t feel like it all the time).
We lean on these beliefs and each of you learn to give yourselves love, support, and compassion. This helps you stay connected to yourself and each other even during the stresses and hard moments.
That emotion-full work (it is uncomfortable at times) gives you the ability to communicate well, repair after the hard moments in life and relationship, make room for the needs of each of you AND the relationship, and deepen the closeness and experience of your partnership.
How it works.
- Curiosity, collaboration, and brave space. During this first phase, we’re going to get to know you and the relationship, collaborate on your goals and the roadmap to reach them, and create the brave space to reach them.
- Tracking, un-blending, and trying something new. This may sound clinical. Now we track the sequence of the conflict(s). This is like breaking down the choreography of an autopilot dance you do with each other. Next, we learn to un-blend. Un-blending is where you step back from your feelings and stories to look at them curiously and compassionately, listening for important information. This allows you to try a new way of communicating, where the speaker speaks for the feeling or story instead of from it and the listener listens with empathy and open-mindedness.
- Repair, forgiveness, reconciliation, and building the future. Now there is more safety and trust, as well as clarity, intimacy, and skills. This shifts our focus to repair, responsibility, and designing the future with these new ways of thinking, feeling, and being.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do you offer online therapy?
Yes — I provide secure telehealth sessions for anyone located in California.
Q: How often do I need to come to therapy?
I ask for us to begin with weekly sessions for a fixed amount of time we agree upon. After that, we can revisit scheduling based on your needs, goals, and finances
Q: What if I can’t afford weekly sessions?
I offer a limited number of sliding-scale spots, and I can also provide superbills if you’d like to seek reimbursement from your insurance. Check out the Cost and Insurance section for more information.
Q: What should I expect in the consultation?
We’ll talk about what brings you to therapy, what you’re hoping for, and I’ll answer any questions. It’s a chance for you to see if I feel like the right fit.
