I typically work with people individually. Occasionally, bringing in partners or family members can assist in the process of healing and growth. My training and education throughout graduate school was through the systems perspective (LMFT). The systems perspective highlights the importance of the many systems we engage in on a daily basis.
I attempt to cater sessions to each individual’s needs. I utilize a variety of therapeutic modalities to assist my clients in gaining insight, developing healthy skills, and making change within their lives. I believe each individual has the potential within them to change, heal, and grow.
I view the process of therapy as a journey. I am a guide along one’s journey of healing and growth. The journey is up to you…
Therapy with Nate
Client-centered therapy is built on the idea that humans are inherently good and have the potential to grow. It focuses on the person's perception of their present circumstances. It assists them in identifying their own answers to problems or barriers they may be facing.
Client-Centered Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
CBT can help people learn how to identify and change unhealthy thought patterns. Typically, these thought patterns have a negative influence on their behavior and emotions. Through CBT, faulty thoughts are identified, challenged, and replaced with more positive, rational, and compassionate thoughts.
Sand Tray Therapy
Sand tray therapy is another modality that can help people foster a deeper understanding of themselves, their world, and aspects of their reality. Objects are placed in the sand tray to create scenes or narratives. This can be especially helpful for those who want a deeper understanding or have difficulty putting things into words.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy helps people recognize repressed emotions and unconscious influences that may be affecting the way they behave. Sometimes people act in certain ways or respond to others for reasons that they don’t really understand. It may help people learn how to express their emotions in more adaptive and healthier ways.
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy
Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a therapeutic approach that has foundations in CBT. Clients learn to stop avoiding, denying, and struggling with their inner emotions. Instead, they learn to accept that these deeper feelings are appropriate responses to life’s challenges. With this understanding, clients begin to accept their hardships and commit to making necessary changes in their lives.
Mindfulness & Yoga
Mindfulness
Mindfulness involves creating an awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and the surrounding environment. In mindfulness we learn to allow our thoughts & feelings to come into our awareness, we let them be, and we let them go. By doing so we learn to be more compassionate towards ourselves and towards others. We learn to separate ourselves from our thoughts and feelings. This allows us to be less controlled by the daily rollercoaster of thoughts and feelings.
Yoga
For many people, stress is a major precursor for anxiety and depression symptoms to flare up. Stress and anxiety tighten muscles in the body and sends distressing messages to the brain. By releasing and calming tight muscles, we send calming messages to the brain. Research has shown yogas effectiveness in complimentary treatment of anxiety, PTSD, and depression.
From Harvard Health:
“All exercise can boost your mood by lowering levels of stress hormones, increasing the production of feel-good chemicals known as endorphins, and bringing more oxygenated blood to your brain. But yoga may have additional benefits. It can affect mood by elevating levels of a brain chemical called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is associated with better mood and decreased anxiety.”