Smart Talk
About
"Change is the only constant in life"
Life can feel like it's in a constant state of transition. As soon as you feel like you have stabilized, something new comes your way. It can be the birth of a child or challenges conceiving, a new job, a new relationship, a new city. The list goes on and on. But the feeling that you get in response to that change remains the same. You feel destabilized, anxious, and sad. Even for positive changes in our lives, we can feel those negative feelings. It can be a confusing time.
One way of managing these feelings is to throw a label on them such as depression or anxiety and then take medications. But that label does not always help solve the problem or even help highlight the core cause of those emotions. Instead, I look at your environment and support you in identifying why you are feeling this way right now. Together we create an understanding of your current emotions, and create a way to not only stabilize you as you adjust to yet another life change but also find ways to have you thrive. Towards the end of our time together, we create action plans that you can set into place when you anticipate yet another life change coming so as a way to help prevent future destabilizing adjustments.
I use a non judgemental and collaborative approach in my therapy with clients. I pull from different theoretical orientations including cognitive behavioral therapy, family systems, and evidence-based approaches in order to customize a plan that is specific to your current life and lifestyle needs. We then walk through our plan together, having you try out different techniques, and figuring out together what works best for you. Along the way, I ask for feedback so as to make sure that you feel supported, safe, and to ensure that we are moving in the right direction.
Degrees:
- Bachelor of Arts in Music and Psychology from Royal Holloway, University of London, U.K. 2007. - Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology with Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pepperdine University, Malibu, California 2009 (4.0 GPA)
Highlights
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Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
With increasing demands on our lives from our careers, families, finances, friends, and social media it can feel like from the moment that you wake up to the moment that your exhausted body (and mind) fall asleep you have been in one big cloud of stress.
Stress has a huge negative impact on our lives. It increases your chances of high blood pressure and heart disease, reduces your immune system making you more susceptible to colds and other illnesses, increases risk for depression and anxiety, increases isolation, and reduces your ability to maintain long term relationships.
Learning to become aware of our stress, manage it better, and cope with it is essential to leading a fulfilled and happy life.
In the first stage of therapy you will build awareness for what is happening in your life. Only if we understand all of the underlying causes for your symptoms will we be able to find solutions. This stage consists of figuring out what is happening in your environment, how it's making you feel, and what you would like life to look like instead.
In the second stage of treatment we will start to implement some actions. We will come up with some solutions that you can try out to help you feel better. I pull from an array of evidence-based practices that have shown to be effective in reducing stress. Each solution offered will be customized to your life and who you are as a person. You will be given the tools you need to take action in feeling better and you will get to report back on what solutions worked for you and which ones don't. During this stage you will start to feel empowered, in control of your life, and will be able to see meaningful changes happening.
The final stage is acceptance. In this stage we will process the things that you will not be able to change about your life (e.g. a difficult boss) and how you can learn to accept this. By accepting the things that you cannot change, you will feel freer and spend less time worrying about how to solve an unsolvable problem. The acceptance stage of therapy will also help you learn to let go of stressors and build on your own strengths.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
BA in Music and Psychology from Royal Holloway, University of London in 2007.
MA in Clinical Psychology with Emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Pepperdine Univeristy in 2009.
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California since 2011 and in Illinois since 2017.
Do you have a standard pricing system for your services? If so, please share the details here.
Initial 60 minute assessment for individuals: $160
60 minute individual therapy sessions:$130
Initial 60 minute assessment for couples or families: $200
60 minute couples or family therapy: $160
What types of customers have you worked with?
My main areas of focus include:
- Stress management,
- Infertility,
- Major life transitions such as new careers, new cities, new relationships,
- Parenting