Navigate life’s challenges with flexibility and resilience.
Individual Therapy
In-person therapy at my Arlington, VA office location, and/or online in D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and 40 other states.
My mission is your growth.
Although we all have a unique history and set of problems, I believe that each and every one of us can create a life of meaning and purpose. This requires the courageous decision to make room for pain in the service of taking action on the things that are most important.
Let your resilience and flexibility determine the next chapter in your story.
Life can be overwhelming. Stress, anxiety, fear, doubt, disappointment, anger, and sadness are normal feelings that serve important purposes. But, at times, it can be hard to navigate these emotions alone.
We all possess internal wisdom, but it may be hidden from view at the moment. There are times in life when we need both new tools and new support to help us discover that wisdom, to remind us that we have our own north star that can guide us to the best path for ourselves.
I provide compassionate, evidence-based individual therapy for many common problems. In many ways, I aim to help my patients develop increased psychological flexibility.
If you want more flexible muscles, you need to practice stretching your body in the right way. In a similar way, learning to be more psychologically flexible involves training and practicing skills in various domains.
We can learn:
New ways to loosen the grip of unhelpful thoughts so they don’t have as much influence on what we do
To “make room” for and feel the full range of emotions and experiences, even the painful ones, which helps us learn from them
To reorient to the present moment, bringing us back to now, allowing us to access choice points: opportunities to remind ourselves about what’s most important and to take effective action
We can shift perspectives. Take the question, “Who are you?” The answer your mind gives to that question is your “self story.” And it’s perfectly fine to have a story about yourself (I have one in my “About” section), but problems can arise when we start to believe that we ARE completely that story. It can fuel harsh self-talk and get in the way of being kind to ourselves. Therapy can help us engage in perspective-taking and connect with a more flexible and fundamental sense of self that is supportive, compassionate, and loving.
Therapy can also help us clarify what we want our lives to be about and what really matters to us.
Knowing your values and priorities helps you to return to them again and again, just like you would check your GPS to make sure you’re moving in the right direction.
Having a clear sense of who we are and what we want our lives to be about helps us to take effective action. Making choices to do what works based on what really matters often results in a life that is meaningful and purposeful.
Every person is unique, so your treatment plan will also be unique. We’ll work together to figure our a path forward based on your personalized goals, preferences, and values.
WHAT WE’LL DO TOGETHER
My approach to therapy is straightforward:
First, we’ll spend some time getting to know each other
We will talk about your struggles, the ways you cope, and what you really want out of life. We’ll set goals for our work together and talk about how we can go about accomplishing those.
Second, we’ll figure out your strengths and obstacles
We’ll put our heads together to identify resilience factors, and see what is working for you. We’ll also figure out what’s not working and what’s getting in the way of living the life you want.
Third, we’ll start developing new ways to address challenges
We will develop new ways to relate to your problems with curiosity, non-judgement, attention, intention, and flexibility to reduce your suffering and get you on the path to thriving.
Challenges I can help with:
Generalized anxiety and worry
Health anxiety and hypochondriasis
Specific fears and phobias
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Panic attacks
Social anxiety
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Abuse
Acute stress
Loss of a loved one
Loss of a pet
Loss of a relationship, health status, or other life situation
Anticipatory grief
End of life emotional support
Acute and chronic depression
Postpartum depression
Aging
Retirement
Considering or adjusting to parenthood
Considering or adjusting to a new job or city
Newly single or dating again
Cross-cultural adjustment
Challenges in living
Relationship difficulties
Intimacy and sexuality
Work, school, and career concerns
Anger, irritability, and stress
Procrastination
ADHD/ADD
Existential concerns and meaning-making