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I find that the meaning we make of our situations does much to frame how we make sense of our lives. We can let setbacks define us and determine our path, or we can choose to grow through challenges and emerge as healthy people living who are intentional lives on the other side.
I pull upon a number of different psychological theories and my 20 years of experience as a therapist to help every individual in my office understand themselves, how they got here, and where they want to take their lives.
I earned my Master's degree in Counseling Psychology from Santa Clara University, where I was recognized for my leadership as a student at graduation. I trained for two years in the Palo Alto Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy Training Program, learning about how ingrained habits can be identified and altered with careful analysis. I studied mindfulness based meditation and cognitive behavioral interventions to learn ways our thoughts and choices can shape behavior and feelings in this moment. As I married and raised children, I studied couples counseling following the Gottman method and the Developmental Model of the Couples Institute. I've trained as a supervisor of apprentice psychotherapists. Ethics and integrity matter to me; I serve as a volunteer on the CAMFT Ethics Committee that sets ethical expectations and evaluates accusations of inappropriate activities. I am the founder and president of the Family Matters group counseling practice. I value clinical excellence and business professionalism.
I find that understanding why we learned to cope in certain ways helps us be compassionate towards ourselves today as we make similar mistakes. Insight is one of the keys to being able to choose a different path forward, and so talking about the past can be important.
That said, in addition to insight, a patient needs to experience a new way of being with the therapist. Excellent clinicians find ways that patterns happening in the outside world can be experienced with the therapist in real time in the office. A new pattern emerges as the therapist and client forge a new dynamic in therapy. The client can then take these new patterns out into their relationships in the world.
Therapy helps us understand our past experiences, appreciate how we did so much so well to survive, and allows us to choose how we want to operate moving forward. Therapy can be a way to make peace with our past and our anxious minds. We can choose to focus on gratitude and forgiveness, once we have spoken our truth. We can accept our feelings, consider our thoughts, and choose our behaviors. Therapy is the best way that I know to accomplish these goals for living well. I hope to hear from you.