Therapy for Individuals

EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, is a therapeutic approach designed to help individuals heal from emotional distress caused by disturbing life experiences. EMDR involves engaging in bilateral stimulation—such as holding gentle vibrating paddles, following moving lights with your eyes, or listening to alternating sounds—while recalling traumatic or upsetting event.  This process helps the brain reprocess these memories, reducing their lingering effects and allowing for healthier emotional responses.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a problem-focused and research-based therapy.  CBT involves learning to recognize thought and behavior patterns and identify where and when those patterns help and hurt.  CBT aims to teach clients the knowledge and skills needed to become their own therapists.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) are both effective approaches for treating depression, each working in distinct but complementary ways.

CBT focuses on breaking the cycle of negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that fuel depression. It identifies unhelpful thought patterns and explores how they shape emotions and actions, and how they may be rooted in long-standing beliefs about yourself.  When we understand and challenge these beliefs and patterns we can improve mood and reduce depressive symptoms.

EMDR addresses the emotional impact of past experiences that may still be affecting you. Through bilateral stimulation, such as eye movements, EMDR helps the brain reprocess difficult memories, reducing their emotional weight. This can lead to relief from the lingering effects of past trauma and help lift the emotional burden that contributes to depression.

Together, CBT and EMDR offer a holistic approach to depression, targeting both current thought patterns and the deeper emotional roots of the condition.

Yes, I specialize in helping individuals through significant life transitions. Feeling overwhelmed during times of change is completely natural. In therapy, we’ll explore your feelings, clarify your goals, and create an actionable plan to navigate these changes with confidence and clarity.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is the gold standard in anxiety treatment.  It starts with building an understanding of how past experiences and current beliefs created and maintain anxiety. Together, we look at how anxiety affects your life and explore the factors contributing to it, such as stress, relationships, and work. We’ll also identify unhelpful thought patterns that keep the anxiety going. Exposure therapy, a necessary part of any anxiety treatment, will help you learn to gradually and safely face the situations or thoughts that trigger your anxiety.  We’ll also develop practical tools, like relaxation techniques and mindfulness, to manage anxiety in your daily life.

Yes, therapy can be very helpful for parents navigating challenges with family life. Parenting often brings up its own stresses, but it can also trigger deeper, unresolved emotions or wounds from childhood. These past experiences may influence how you respond to your children, partner, or family, sometimes in ways that feel overwhelming or unhelpful.

In therapy, there’s an opportunity to explore these connections between your past and your current parenting struggles.  In our work, we also can address practical strategies to improve communication, set boundaries, and manage daily stresses, and review and respond to developmental norms and stages appropriately so you can parent with more confidence and calm.

By addressing both current family challenges and the deeper emotional roots that may contribute to them, therapy can provide a clear path toward a healthier family life and a more balanced approach to parenting.

Aaron Beck developed CBT in the 1960s, drawing from his and others' experiences with Freudian therapy.  Dr. Beck began his psychiatric career as an analyst and set up studies to show the effectiveness of psychoanalytic treatment (Freudian therapy).  He could not scientifically show that psychoanalytic treatment was an effective intervention for depression.  But from his research, Dr. Beck began to develop what is now known as CBT. 

Since then, hundreds of research studies have found CBT to be an effective treatment for mood disorders.  The discipline has also evolved considerably beyond the original focus of depression.  Research has shown highly effective results for anxiety, self-esteem, anger management, personality disorders, and more.

The primary research studies have primarily used 18-20 sessions in the CBT protocols.  In my practice, I have found that while that number is helpful, many people do not need that many sessions and many clients continue beyond 20 sessions.

No.  I am not in-network for any insurance companies.  However, I provide receipts with the codes necessary for you to submit your claims to your insurance company for out-of-network coverage.  Your plan determines the amount your insurance company reimburses you.

45-Minute Appointment | $225*

60-Minute Appointment | $275*

You can pay by credit card (including Health Savings Account cards) or check.  Payment is due at the time of service.

During the pandemic, I learned that online therapy can be very effective. However, I do not offer online therapy for kids under 12 years. And, if I'm honest, I always prefer to have you in the office and face to face.

I offer virtual therapy in the states in which I am licensed: VA, MD, DC, NY, and MA.