Theoretical approach
My primary work is as a psychiatrist practicing psychoanalytic psychotherapies, highly effective treatments. I make use of contemporary psychoanalytic and attachment theory rooted in psychoanalytic formal training after training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and mindfulness meditation. As my education suggests, I focus on developing use of one’s own bodily experience as the primary source of safety when things are confusing or frustrating. In time, your narrative and everyday imagery can build upon embodied awareness and support deeper meaning.
The content of psychotherapy is essential to effective treatment. Our therapeutic identifies core developmental aspects of your life. Sessions are mutually designed and rest upon your associations to challenges you are thinking through. We make use of your explorations, daydreams, and dreams at night based on your preferences. Especially in the beginning stages, effective psychotherapy simply considers what comes to mind for you. In time we can facilitate rekindling joyfulness and purpose in your relationships and life.
the framework of effective treatment
As defined in our service agreement, establishing and maintaining a commitment to sessions each week creates reliable support for you. I most commonly see patients 2-5 times per week. Meeting during both frenetic and routine times is essential to understand shifts in states of your mind. More frequent sessions most commonly shift work from considerations of external actions to deeper awareness of internal experiences and dynamics. Shifting to less frequent sessions is often a way to continue therapy on one’s own terms. Satisfaction with any effective therapy is rooted in iterative progress. For some, focused therapy on a specific issue is sufficient and complete over several weeks. Lasting change for most takes several months.
I see patients in my offices in Louisville, KY and Portland, OR. I integrate telesessions, and have done so for more than a decade. As the pandemic stabilized, we are considering active research about the effectiveness of telemedicine. Therapeutic work via a private, secure, and reliable teleplatform reduces schedule challenges, facilitates integrating deeper work into your weekly routine, and avails psychoanalytic work to people previously excluded due to geographic and cultural barriers. Many of my colleagues have strong negative views of virtual work; and I think it worthy to consider these. Virtual work is not the same as in person session; and this format may not be the best choice for you. This is usually clear at the end of a consultation.
common sense work in and across sessions
Most people want to know how it feels to work together prior to starting. My work respectfully holds the suffering and isolation of patients and the opportunities of arriving in therapy to deeper awareness. I aim to attend to the tenderness of vulnerability. Some patients experience me as a quiet, respectful keeper of their secrets. Others experience me as an active and curious partner in addressing frustrations, grief, or deeply personal change. I respectfully attend to playfulness when alive and real. Most meaning and suffering are rooted in developmental dynamics; and how others experience me is heavily shaped by their wants, needs, and ways of relating.
Defining treatment goals is a meaningful collaborative process. In any effective psychotherapy, you should feel consistently respected by someone seeking to better understand you and care for your suffering. You should experience hope within a few sessions. You should feel oriented and the beginnings of tangible relief within a few weeks. At times in an effective treatment, you may experience periods of feeling worse as you experience your own driving and dysregulating forces. You may also endure my imperfect efforts to understand you; and you should experience effective repair of mistrust during a full treatment if and when it arises.
An effective, full therapy can relieve suffering and support greater capacity for greater satisfaction, purpose, and fulfillment in your life.