Approaches to therapy
OCD
How does ERP work?
ERP helps you confront your fears while learning to tolerate the anxiety they provoke. A key part of this process is learning to control behaviors, like rumination, which contribute to ongoing anxiety. Before we dive into exposures, we’ll work together on managing anxiety through controlling rumination and building distress tolerance.
Exposure
In ERP, you’ll gradually face the things you may usually avoid or feel compelled to act on. These exposures are carefully planned to start with less distressing triggers, and we'll increase their difficulty as you progress. The goal is to help you confront your fears in a controlled and manageable way.
Response Prevention
While facing anxiety-inducing stimuli, we work together to resist your typical compulsive behaviors or rituals. This teaches that anxiety is tolerable, and you have the ability to control the behavioral aspect of OCD. By not performing compulsive behaviors, you’ll discover that your anxiety does not escalate indefinitely. Over time, you’ll also notice a growing confidence and a sense of agency in your ability to manage both the anxiety and your compulsions, even when you don’t engage in your usual responses. Understanding compulsions and rumination as a source of ongoing distress and anxiety is key here.
Learning to Disengage
Through ERP, you'll discover that compulsions aren’t necessary for safety, the discomfort from intrusive thoughts is manageable, and you can “turn off” rumination by disengaging from it.
A Combination of Psychodynamic work and Response Prevention
In addition to cognitive-behavioral techniques for OCD, anxiety, and related disorders, I integrate psychodynamic and psychoanalytic approaches. This allows us to not only address the symptoms but also explore the emotional roots of OCD. Understanding the deeper emotional factors that contribute to your OCD can help tailor your treatment and provide insight into how past relational dynamics might be influencing your symptoms today.
Anxiety
If you're seeking therapy for overwhelming anxiety or panic, my approach starts with equipping you with the tools to better manage these feelings and bring your "baseline" anxiety down. We may work on grounding techniques and distress tolerance practices to help you feel more in control.
Once we’ve reduced your baseline anxiety, we can begin exploring deeper emotional and psychological patterns through psychodynamic therapy.
You might find yourself wondering why you react the way you do in certain situations, why specific relational patterns keep repeating, or why you tend to choose particular types of people in your relationships. Together, we’ll explore these questions, helping you gain greater insight and understanding of yourself.
Relational issues
In my practice, I provide a safe, supportive space for individuals and couples facing relationship challenges. As Esther Perel wisely says, "The quality of our lives depends on the quality of our relationships."
Using psychodynamic interventions and empathic listening, I help clients better understand their emotions, improve communication, and build healthier, more fulfilling connections.
For those navigating the end of a relationship—whether through a breakup, divorce, or separation—I offer tailored support to guide you through this often painful process. I also specialize in supporting individuals recovering from emotional or narcissistic abuse, helping you process complex emotions, rebuild self-esteem, and reclaim your sense of self in a compassionate environment.
