The Center for Counseling Arts

I value a strong therapeutic relationship that fosters compassion and genuineness. Our work together will consist of a combination of approaches to determine which one suits you best. I am trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as well as psycho-dynamic therapy, EMDR, ACT, Eriksonian Hypnosis, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and grief counseling. I have a deep appreciation that different stages in life present different challenges.

For over 30 years I am a founding partner of AATC, specializing in agoraphobia and anxiety disorders. My lectures include local hospitals, medical schools, and community facilities where I teach professionals better methods for stress management and communication skills. I am also the author of the book Chronic Illness and the Family: A Guide to Living Every Day (January 1, 1996), which addresses the emotional impact of illness on the patient and family. Nearly one out of every ten families will face the challenge of chronic illness, and in this guide I recount my own experience when kidney disease struck my 38-year-old husband, requiring us both, and our two children, to learn a new and permanent way of living.

One of my specialties, Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, is a mental health treatment technique that processes traumatic memories by concentrating on a visualization, expression, or feeling that represents the distress, much like exposure therapy, while engaging in bilateral inputs, such as side-to-side eye movements. EMDR is recommended for the treatment of PTSD by well-established medical or government institutions including the US Departments of Veteran Affairs and Defense, the World Health Organization, and the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Two therapists strongly influence my own approach. The first, Erving Polster, views those who have experienced trauma not as victims but heroes in their story.

Erving Polster recognizes the beautiful flow of perception, "what matters most is what is happening, with whom it is happening, how it is happening, when it is happening, how one feels about what is happening, and especially, what are the consequences of what is happening." Also, Erving Polster perceives we have hope ahead: “tragedy is partly a matter of where a story ends.”

The other, Milton Erickson, emphasizes the strengths of the client rather than focusing on just the struggles. We can use the strength you already possess to overcome. "Allow yourself to see what you don’t allow yourself to see.”

As the therapist I assist in developing that uncovering of strength through the respect of my relationship with the client.