My Psychotherapeutic Approach
Rather than focusing on one psychological approach, I incorporate a variety of different modalities tailored to your unique circumstances.
When we meet for the first time, we will discuss which approach might work best for your therapeutic goals. It is crucial that you feel comfortable with the therapeutic approach, so I encourage you to communicate any concerns with me. Many people who have been in therapy before become accustomed to the style of their previous therapist and have difficulty embracing anything that feels different. If this is the case for you, it is important that you discuss this with me so the therapeutic approach resonates with you.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic Therapy involves the fun and illuminating process of exploring historical events in your life that have influenced your personality development, self-concept, and view of the world.
This enlightening, introspective process involves putting together the jigsaw puzzle of your life, which leads to a keen sense of self-awareness and understanding. When you complete this puzzle, everything in your life begins to make sense to you. Through use of a timeline, together we will explore the security of attachments early in life and the core beliefs you adopted about yourself and your world as a result of messages you received from others during your developmental years. Many people adopt certain personality patterns, such as “perfectionist," “achiever," “helper," “controller" and tend to resort to these behaviors as a means of coping during times of stress. We seek to identify maladaptive coping mechanisms that you may have adopted as a means of emotional survival and explore new, more productive ways of coping. This process is illuminating and freeing and while it is different for every person, almost every client I have worked with says something akin to, “I never expected to enjoy therapy so much.” This is, without a doubt, a life-enriching process. As you learn about yourself, you will find your maladaptive behaviors diminishing.
Somatic Therapy
Somatic Therapy is a body-centered therapy that focuses on the mind-body connection.
Unresolved psychological issues may result in suppressed emotions, which may be expressed through physical symptoms. Psychological distress may present as physical symptoms, and somatic therapies can be extremely helpful for those who are suffering from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, headaches, musculoskeletal pain, heart disease, disordered eating patterns, and a host of other symptoms. This is not to minimize the impact of physical symptoms, as they are real not imagined, but to address the root cause. The process can work to heal both emotional and physical symptoms.
Identifying the origin of these symptoms can be exceptionally therapeutic and adopting psychological resources to cope with these issues can be healing. Physical symptoms may be a manifestation of unresolved trauma or emotional events from your past but not in all cases. Connecting with the body to attend to the unconscious messages the body is relaying through symptoms is at the heart of somatic therapies.
Somatic therapy involves bodily awareness. Developing an awareness of how your body responds during times of stress is helpful. I will teach you strategies to deal with thoughts, beliefs, and emotions that are counterproductive and help you learn to shift from a stress state into a healing state by activating your vagus nerve. Understanding the function of the vagus nerve and how to activate it is a key part of the process of healing emotionally and physically.
I will also help you to understand how your lifestyle and dietary habits may be contributors to anxiety, depression, attention deficits, irritable bowel symptoms, physical pain, headaches, fatigue, cognitive dysfunction, as well as premenstrual, peri-menopausal, or menopausal symptoms. Additionally, I will provide you with solutions to minimize the impact these symptoms have on your quality of life until they can be eliminated through the therapeutic process.
Couples Therapy
My therapeutic approach to couples counseling involves restoring the emotional bond that has been broken as a result of unresolved resentment; teaching effective, respectful communication; helping partners develop an intimate understanding of one another’s needs, and reawakening loving feelings and a desire for intimacy.
I have always loved working with couples and have found it to be some of the most rewarding therapeutic work I've done. The decision to seek couples therapy is not always easy for people and many come to therapy reluctantly. Psychotherapy is a Divine calling for me, and I feel grateful to have been gifted with an ability to help people heal their relationships. Through the therapeutic process, couples who, in the beginning, are seething with anger and on the verge of terminating their relationship are able to heal the wounds that have been the source of resentment for months or years. In a relatively short time, we work together to deconstruct the wall of resentment that has been built between them, which has impeded with the emotional intimacy they once enjoyed. Through this process, their anger toward one another begins to diminish, which opens the door for feelings of love and appreciation. My therapeutic approach to couples counseling involves restoring the emotional bond that has been broken as a result of unresolved resentment; teaching effective, respectful communication; helping partners develop an intimate understanding of one another’s needs, and reawakening loving feelings and a desire for intimacy. Because this process involves introspective work, they both emerge from this process with a deeper understanding of themselves as well. The couples with whom I’ve been privileged to work are always so very grateful that they decided to go to counseling before pursuing divorce.
Because your circumstances as a couple are unique, my therapeutic approach will be tailored to meet your needs as a couple. My job is to facilitate your therapeutic process. You can count on me to be supportive and straightforward while providing guidance and encouragement to help each of you make desired changes. I look forward to helping you heal your relationship!
Energy Psychology Therapies
Energy Psychology can shift brain patterns to rewire the brain and to create new neural pathways.
Energy Psychology integrates Western Psychology and ancient Eastern healing practices by stimulating energy meridians to create a shifts in beliefs and emotions, which can result in more adaptive behavior. There are a variety of Energy Psychology techniques, and I primarily use two Energy Psychology modalities - Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
EMDR
EMDR is an energy psychology technique that has been shown in numerous studies to be an effective treatment for trauma and anxiety. It can also be helpful for addressing a wide range of issues that can negatively impact one’s quality of life including chronic pain, phobias, depression, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorders, stress, performance anxiety, eating disorders, and complicated grief from loss.
The practice of EMDR creates neuroplastic changes in the brain, which works by activating the right and left hemispheres of the brain simultaneously through a type of bilateral stimulation while processing the distressing information that is the target therapeutic change.
Bilateral stimulation involves any of the following techniques:
alternating tones between the left and right ears
alternating pulses or tapping on the right and left sides of the body
repeatedly moving the eyes back and forth (as in REM sleep)
Traumatic information is stored in maladaptive neural networks, which are compartmentalized in the right hemisphere of the brain. EMDR helps to rewire these networks by connecting the distressing traumatic memory with new positive thoughts and emotions.
In 2013, the World Health Organization recognized EMDR as the treatment of choice for adults, adolescents, and children suffering from PTSD (de Bont et al., 2013; Novo et al., 2014; Perez-Dandieu and Tapia, 2014).
Book a complimentary call today! Email: val@synergyhealthsolutions.net or Call: 239-260-1978
EFT
EFT is an energy psychology technique that is simple and easy to use on yourself to resolve the source of distressing thoughts and feelings. It works through stimulation of meridians in the body that carry energy throughout the body. Tapping on the median points sends a message to the part of the brain responsible for the stress response, which triggers the release of cortisol. When tapping is done while maintaining a focus on the problem you want to overcome, it shifts your body from the sympathetic “fight, flight, or freeze” response to a parasympathetic “rest and digest” healing state. Tapping on certain acupoints calms the amygdala, the part of the brain in the limbic system where emotions are processed. The tapping process reduces the stress-load on your body by down-regulating your cortisol stress-response. This technique can be used to resolve a wide variety of issues from addictive cravings and physical pain to core emotional issues.
Using Health Insurance for Mental Health Services
Sometimes we are asked about the advantages and disadvantages of using health insurance benefits for mental health services, here is an article you may find helpful in making your decision. https://tampatherapy.com/2017/01/25/reasons-not-use-insurance-mental-health-treatment/
Book a complimentary call today! Email: val@synergyhealthsolutions.net or Call: 239-260-1978