Therapy only succeeds if we work as a team. Teamwork requires trust. My highest priority will be to help you feel safe, accepted, and understood during our sessions, because those ingredients build trust.

I bring my real self into treatment sessions. I will be honest with you, even if that means challenging you at times, because I know from experience that from challenges comes growth.

Therapy happens in unscripted real time, and mistakes are inevitable. However, I promise to admit it when I am at fault. I also welcome your honest, candid feedback. Your honesty will help me adjust treatment so you can get the most out of therapy.

Lastly, I am committed to providing treatment to those of all races, religions, orientations, and identities.

We need motivation to change, yet many of us don’t understand where it originates, why it fluctuates, or how to strengthen it. We’ll start by identifying your deeper values, the reasons driving your desire to change. Then we can help you stay connected to those values, even during your everyday struggles.

Many people successfully make major life changes, but it may require multiple attempts before they succeed. We’ll look carefully at your efforts to change, identifying what has worked, as well as pinpointing where things went wrong. We will pay close attention to the factors that weaken your motivation, especially those you may be able to bring under better control with practice.

While it’s vital for us to understand all the forces contributing to the problems in your life, it's equally important to identify and build upon the strengths you bring to solving your problems, strengths you may overlook during troubling times.

Humans are creatures of habit. We all have ingrained patterns of thinking and behavior, which may or may not be helpful to us as we confront new problems in our lives.

You may feel hopeless about your ability to change, but don’t give up! Learning where old patterns originated and why they are resistant to change can help you find new ways to manage your thoughts, regulate your emotions and cope more effectively with stress.

Meaningful change takes hard work, and the road ahead may bring bumps and potholes, but our goal is progress not perfection. Setbacks are normal and can be beneficial if we use them as opportunities to learn and “fail better” the next time. A new crisis may provide you with an opportunity to challenge negative habits and develop new ways of thinking and coping.

On the other hand, sometimes seemingly small lifestyle changes (e.g., improving your sleep habits) can be the start of major improvements in your quality of life.