DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy)

My outpatient practice remains highly informed by the extensive training and experience I gained during my time as a DBT therapist. DBT is a form of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (a change-based approach) that was developed for clients who present with borderline personality traits/disorder, suicidal ideation, hx of suicide attempts, and patterns of self-harming behaviors. While DBT was originally developed to treat such patterns, it has been shown to be highly beneficial for a wide range of clinical issues, and I believe it's important to continue to offer DBT informed services and skills training for the general outpatient population, and on a 1-1 basis for those who struggle to learn in a group format. 

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While change and acceptance seem like opposites, both are important and depend on each other - when we radically accept things as they are, then we can change. I enjoy teaching and am happy provide skills education for clients who present with need. DBT skills include mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness, and can be helpful to truly anyone.  

DBT informed therapy can help with: 

-Skill Deficits (Individual 1-1 Skills Training)  

-Emotional Dysregulation, Behavioral Dysregulation, Cognitive Dysregulation

-Relationship/Interpersonal Distress

-Self-Destructive, Maladaptive, Unwanted Habits & Behaviors
-BPD, Borderline Personality Traits

-Self Management (building structure, routine, and self-discipline)

-Suicidal Ideation & Self Harming Behavior (I will evaluate medical necessity for higher level of care and will refer for adherent DBT programming when indicated). 

Trauma has less to do with the event/experience(s) endured, and has more to do with how how we experience them. If the event(s)/experience(s) are overwhelming to our capacity to cope, or if it is "too much, too fast, too soon, or for too long" it can leave a lasting impact on us. All of us deserve to be free from the lingering effects of our past experiences so that we can truly enjoy our lives in the present. 

I have previous training and experience in Prolonged Exposure Therapy (PE), which is an evidence-based trauma therapy recommended by the Department of Veterans Affairs as a first line treatment for clinical levels of PTSD symptoms. I learned how to integrate PE into DBT programming, and I also obtained trained in exposure therapy for anxiety disorders (Panic, OCD, etc). I have shy-ed away from practicing formal PE in recent years, due to learning about how it has the potential to re-traumatize. I think the PE protocol can feel like "too much" or "for too long" for some, and therefore is not always appropriate or indicated. This left me wanting diversity in my trauma tool belt so to speak,  and desire to learn other approaches to treating trauma that were slower paced and experienced as less intense, which led me in the direction of more subtle, body-based approaches. 

Somatic Experiencing® (SE) is a holistic approach to healing, a collaborative modality that supports curiosity, inquiry, self-discovery, and creativity. It can help one build resources and body awareness, which supports the release of stored trauma (stress) in the nervous system. Memories are stored not only in the mind, but in the body. Unresolved trauma in the body can contribute to a host of secondary difficulties over time, including but not limited to PSTD, depression, panic, phobias, dissociation, chronic pain, digestive problems, and even autoimmune disorders. 

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In the somatic approach, the initial focus is on building stability, resources, and regulation abilities. The process is considered slow compared to other types of trauma treatment, and the goal is to support the body to resolve the stored stress and trauma (fixed nervous system responses) that can remain in the body long after the event has passed. In SE the focus is on working with small amounts of activation in order to prevent overwhelm and re-traumatization, and developing capacity to tolerate, be present to, and ultimately integrate more activation over time.  Somatic approaches can be useful when repeated efforts to resolve difficulty through talk therapy and other forms of trauma therapy have not been fruitful. 

I am currently mid-way through the 3 year Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner training program at SEI. I have completed Intermediate III training and expect to complete the Advanced Modules by the end of 2025. 
 

Somatic Trauma Therapy can help you work through: 
-Complex Trauma 

-Developmental Trauma (Childhood abuse, neglect, overwhelming and difficult experiences, ACES)

-Shock Trauma (Sexual abuse, sexual assault, violence, car accidents, near death experiences)

-Relational Trauma / Traumatic Invalidation (Domestic Violence, emotional abuse, mental/psychological abuse)

-Chronic Anxiety, Depression, Panic, Specific Phobias

-Overthinking 

-Dissociation

-Ongoing/unresolved emotional difficulties when talk therapy hasn't helped.