APPROACHES

At our practice, we utilize a variety of therapeutic approaches to ensure that your treatment is personalized and effective. Each approach is carefully selected and tailored to meet your unique needs, helping you achieve your mental health goals in a supportive and compassionate environment. Explore our diverse therapeutic approaches below:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT):

In an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) session, the therapist works with the client to increase psychological flexibility by focusing on six core processes. The session typically begins with discussing the client’s current struggles and goals. The therapist then guides the client through exercises to enhance mindfulness and acceptance, helping them observe their thoughts and feelings without judgment. Clients learn to identify their values and commit to actions aligned with those values, even in the presence of difficult emotions or thoughts. Techniques such as cognitive defusion (separating oneself from thoughts) and experiential exercises are often used to support this process. The session aims to help clients build a more meaningful life by accepting their inner experiences and taking committed actions towards their personal values.

Safe and Sound Protocol

The Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), developed by Dr. Stephen Porges, is an auditory-based intervention designed to improve emotional and physiological regulation by targeting the autonomic nervous system. The protocol involves listening to specially filtered music that is designed to stimulate the vagus nerve, which plays a key role in regulating stress responses. The music is filtered to enhance the frequencies of human voice, which can help increase feelings of safety and social engagement. During SSP, individuals typically listen to the music through headphones in a controlled setting while engaging in relaxation and mindfulness practices. The goal is to help recalibrate the nervous system, improve emotional resilience, and enhance the ability to engage in social interactions and cope with stress.

Sex and Intimacy Therapies

Gender Affirming Care

Gender-affirming mental health care offers a supportive, inclusive, and collaborative space for transgender, nonbinary, gender-expansive, and questioning individuals. Services may include support with identity exploration, dysphoria, anxiety, depression, relationships, life transitions, and navigating social, medical, or legal aspects of transition. Care is grounded in respect, autonomy, and affirmation of each person’s lived experience.

Services are provided in alignment with WPATH Standards of Care, including assessments and letter writing for gender-affirming medical treatments such as hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and surgical procedures when clinically appropriate. The therapeutic process is compassionate, client-centered, and focused on helping individuals feel empowered, supported, and connected to their authentic selves.

Relationship/Couples Counseling

Relationship and couples counseling provides a supportive space for partners to strengthen communication, rebuild trust, deepen emotional connection, and navigate conflict in healthier ways. Therapy can help couples address concerns such as recurring arguments, intimacy challenges, life transitions, parenting stress, infidelity, or differences in values and communication styles. Services are affirming of diverse relationship structures, including consensual non-monogamy, polyamorous relationships, and couples exploring or transitioning into more open relationship dynamics. Using a collaborative and nonjudgmental approach, sessions focus on increasing understanding, improving relational patterns, and helping partners create relationships that feel secure, connected, and aligned with their values.

Group Therapy

Our practice offers group therapy sessions designed to provide a supportive and collaborative environment where individuals can connect with others facing similar challenges. Through structured group interactions, participants benefit from shared experiences, diverse perspectives, and collective insights while working on personal growth and problem-solving. Led by experienced therapists, these sessions foster a sense of community, enhance interpersonal skills, and offer practical strategies for managing various mental health concerns. Group therapy not only helps individuals feel less isolated but also promotes mutual support and empowerment as members work towards their goals together.

Inference-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Integrative Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (ICBT) for OCD helps individuals understand and break free from the cycle of obsessive doubt and compulsive behaviors. This approach focuses on identifying the reasoning processes that fuel OCD and addressing the “feared possible self” — the feared version of oneself that OCD tries to convince a person they could become. Rather than treating thoughts as dangerous or meaningful, ICBT helps clients reconnect with their authentic values, develop trust in themselves, and respond to uncertainty with greater confidence and flexibility. Treatment is collaborative, compassionate, and tailored to each person’s lived experience.

Somatic Therapy:

In a somatic therapy session, the therapist guides the client to focus on their bodily sensations, such as tension, discomfort, or relaxation, often while seated or lying down. The session typically begins with the client identifying any areas of physical sensation and discussing their emotional or psychological state related to these sensations. The therapist helps the client observe and gently explore these bodily experiences without judgment. Through this process, the client learns to release stored tension and gradually integrate traumatic memories, allowing for a sense of relief and restored balance in their body and mind.