our approach
your expectations
“I want my therapist to understand the nuances of my culture and family dynamics without having to overexplain.”
“I want to feel clear about the work we are doing together to make things better, instead of just talking about my issues.”
“I need guidance, practical tools, and direct feedback. I don’t want my therapist to simply reflect back what I say.”
“I have enough insight without change. I want to get unstuck in my patterns of how I feel and how I relate with people.”
We hear you.
While we tailor our therapeutic approach to your needs and preferences, we have found that combining the following directive, insight-oriented, somatic-based, and trauma-informed methods helps you feel clear about your work toward self-discovery and healing:
restoration therapy
Developed by Terry D. Hargrave, Ph.D., and Franz Pfitzer, MD, the Restoration Therapy (RT) model combines attachment theory, contextual family therapy, and neuropsychology. This approach helps identify and change destructive relational patterns by addressing past violations of love and safety. We offer a therapeutic experience integrating insight, creativity, role-playing, movement, and practical tools to foster profound changes in your brain, enabling thoughtful and informed choices for your life.
You may benefit from this approach if you experience:
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Difficulty putting to words or making sense of the pain you experience, such as depression, anxiety, anger, stress, or discontentment
Predictable patterns of unwanted emotions, thoughts, and behaviors
Persistent involvement in relationship dynamics that are stressful or harmful with no idea on how to change
Shame, thought spirals, and lack of compassion for yourself
Frequent anger toward others, situations, and difficulty trusting
A fear of closeness and vulnerability
Perfectionism and controlling tendencies which make life and relationships challenging
An engaged couple embracing
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brainspotting
Brainspotting, developed by Dr. David Grand, is a somatic-based approach that helps treat trauma, regulate the nervous system, and rewire neural pathways. It supports accessing intuitive healing mechanisms for profound recovery. This method treats past and recent traumas and aids creatives, professionals, and athletes in overcoming performance blocks.
Research shows traumatic experiences are stored in the limbic-subcortical brain region. Brainspotting uses your field of vision via eye position to locate and process these experiences. It offers a non-invasive tool to address burnout, grief, chronic pain, depression, anger, and anxiety, promoting deep healing and thriving
You may benefit from this approach if:
You feel that you have reached your limits with previous talk therapy approaches
You have a tendency to feel disconnected from your feelings, numb, or dissociated
You feel the persistent impact of previous traumatic experiences and memories on your current life
You have difficulty being present in the moment and are quick to overanalyze, intellectualize, or problem solve
You notice frequent automatic physical sensations and emotional reactions to cues in your environment
You experience creative and performance blocks that make it difficult to do what you want to do
You suffer from fears or phobias, such as flying, public speaking, or being in social settings.
You have enough insight about yourself, but still can’t seem to take the steps you know you need to take
Eye movement Desensitization & reprocessing (EMDR)
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), developed by Francine Shapiro, is a somatic therapy for treating trauma. It uses bilateral stimulation (visual, tactile, or auditory) to help clients process distressing memories. This structured approach aids in reprocessing traumatic memories, integrating a more adaptive narrative. EMDR can benefit trauma-related conditions, anxiety, and depression.
You may benefit from this approach if:
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You find yourself reliving distressing memories, even though they happened a long time ago
You prefer a highly structured therapy approach to address specific traumatic events that you can’t seem to shake off
You have experienced a traumatic event and find it difficult to talk about it
Talk therapy and other therapeutic approaches have not been helpful to relieve the impacts of your traumatic experiences
You already have an established and supportive relationship with a primary therapist and want to do short-term work to address a specific trauma via EMDR
POlyvagal theory
In our therapeutic work, we integrate the lens of polyvagal theory on the autonomic nervous system by renowned neuroscientist Dr. Stephen Porges. We attune to the ways that your brain responds to safety and danger cues from the environment, your interactions with people (including your therapist), and your body’s internal physical sensations. We have found that providing a solid understanding on how your nervous system is wired can help you feel more empowered to make intentional decisions to nurture a calm mind and grounded body.
This lens can help you:
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Identify the specific cues in your environment that lead to calm, stress, and disconnected experiences
Make sense of information your physical, emotional, and cognitive experiences tell us about your nervous system
Learn practical grounding skills to regulate your autonomic nervous system when it is activated
Understand how your history, personality, identities, and lived experiences affect your current preferences, experiences, and needs
Discover all of the resources available to you to increase calm
Learn about the impact of trauma on your nervous system & rewire new associations with different cues in your environment
Clinical art therapy
Clinical art therapy is a modality that uses imagery, art materials, and the creative process to deepen self-awareness, promote self-regulation, and facilitate healing. It provides an outlet to express difficult and unidentified emotions, creates a safe distance to explore unsafe experiences, and provides a voice for your unconscious thoughts, beliefs, and feelings. Research shows that traumatic experiences are stored as images in our implicit memories in the right hemisphere of the brain and as sensations in our body. Art therapy integrates the whole brain by pairing imagery and conversation with a trained professional to bring insight and make meaning of your experiences.
Our trained art therapists will work with you collaboratively to create healing interventions that target your specific needs. Depending on what you are experiencing, art may be the main focus of your sessions, or it may be used as a supplemental tool for exploring a specific area of need. There is absolutely no artistic skill required to participate in art therapy.
You may benefit from this approach if:
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Build awareness of your emotional experiences
Clearly articulate your experiences for others to understand
Process stuck trauma that you might be avoiding or intellectualizing
Gain new perspective and new insight of yourself
Learn new ways of expression and communication
Create safety in exploring overwhelming memories or situations