What I Offer

I offer psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, TMS, crisis management, and support for developing an overall emotionally and physically healthy lifestyle, using a variety of combined approaches tailored to meet your individual needs.  TMS is transcranial magnetic  stimulation - please see the link on this page for more information about this effective non-pharmacologic treatment for depression.

How Does Therapy Work?

Therapy essentially is a facilitated learning experience intended to save you years of finding things out the hard way.  I have an active style and make every effort to openly and plainly explain what is happening in therapy to the extent it is possible.  I focus on prevention of repeat problems and on developing your resilience so you can better weather life's storms while maintaining a positive outlook.

I am comfortable working with difficult-to-discuss subjects, and have a great depth of experience in a variety of key areas:  working with trauma and abuse, loss and grieving, questions about what to do with your life and career, problems with identity and place in the world, repetitive problems finding satisfying relationships, and the newly-emerging and as-yet-undefined problems facing people of all ages nowadays.  I've seen and heard a lot, and my own life experience places me in a good position both to empathize with suffer and to know that it gets better when you do the right things.

My experience and comfort level extends to more severe emotional problems, and by virtue of training in surgery for two intensive years, I am intimately familiar with the range of medical and surgical problems people often must face.  I am available for consultation to help you determine what type(s) of treatment and other approaches might be beneficial for you. 

Why Choose a Psychodynamic Approach?

It has long been recognized that psychodynamic psychotherapy is highly effective and leads to long-term changes, preserving a person's identity while enabling him or her to live and relate more fully, and enjoy a deeper life experience while relieving everyday negative mood and anxiety symptoms.  A recent meta-analysis of the efficacy of psychodynamic psychotherapy, excerpted below, has demonstrated a substantial statistically significant benefit to psychodynamic therapy rivalling other forms of therapy.

1. Focus on affect and expression of emotion.

3. Identification of recurring themes and patterns. 

4. Discussion of past experience (developmental focus).

5. Focus on interpersonal relations.

6. Focus on the therapy relationship.

7. Exploration of fantasy life.

from:  Shedler J. “The Efficacy of Psychodynamic Psychotherapy,”  American Psychologist (Feb.–March 2010): Vol. 65, No. 2, pp. 98–109.

full text: http://www.apsa.org/portals/1/docs/news/JonathanShedlerStudy20100202.pdf