Asheville NC Psychologist

• Is collaborative. We will work as a team to target the pain points in your life based on what matters most to you. Whether it is old stuff or newer stuff, we’ll figure it out together.

• Is more than just talking. I emphasize evidence-based therapies in my clinical work, which means therapies supported by the best research evidence available. I’m trained in multiple modalities and incorporate these methods in a way that best supports you as an individual as you move towards your goals for therapy.

• Is straight-shooting and not so ooey-gooey. I’m not great at tip-toeing around stuff, and my facial expressions generally reflect what I’m thinking. This doesn't mean I will push my views on you or try to make decisions for you. In fact, I'm a strong believer in the idea that what works for one person won't necessarily work for another person and that a person generally knows what is best for him- or herself. It's my job to help you explore and make decisions that are right for you within your discovery and change process.

• Is change-oriented. I help clients identify therapy goals around want they want to see different, better, or changed and then we develop a plan of action to get them there. So I work best with folks who have some sense of what the problem is and what they want changed. It also helps if you are the type that wants relief sooner rather than later.

• Is EMDR Therapy. I was originally trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy, and I utilize pieces of this approach when clinically indicated, but I’m an EMDR therapist at heart for a very good reason. EMDR is a powerful and flexible therapy that helps people change what hurts, and it goes beyond traditional talk therapy. This matters because no matter how hard we try, we often can’t think ourselves into feeling better, and there is often a mismatch between what we know to be true and what we feel to be true. EMDR has a way of syncing up what the head knows and what the heart feels. For more information about EMDR, click here.

My clinical approach is also informed by cognitive-behavioral therapy, polyvagal theory (a way to understand how our nervous system responds to stress) and what we know about the neurobiology of trauma, mindfulness, attachment, and ego states.

• Change is absolutely possible. I wouldn’t be doing this work otherwise.

• Prior difficult experiences are more often than not the source of current symptoms and struggles and thus likely need to be examined. I don’t believe in slapping a band aid over a deep cut. Sometimes you have to dig-in and debride the wound for it to heal.

• Getting “unstuck” often involves examining and/or changing how we think and behave in response to past or current events in our lives.

• Feelings are a natural and normal part of the human experience that provide us with important information. Our natural inclination though is to avoid pain, but here’s the kicker, feelings only stay if we push them away. Sometimes we have to let big emotions run their natural course so they don’t get stuck in the body.

• Sometimes we need to learn new practical skills to help us become more effective in coping with stress, responding to life’s inevitable hurdles, and obtaining desired outcomes.

• Every one of us has behaviors that worked for them in the past that may no longer serve them in the present. Imagine wearing your heavy Alaskan coat in Houston in June. It may have saved you in the past, but it’s hurting you in the present. These strategies may need to be identified and updated.