Question 1

What is systemic therapy?

Accepted Answer

Systemic therapy is relational therapy. It looks at your relationships, past and present, as the context for your present strengths and challenges. So, it aims to help you change your relationships in order to effect positive changes in your life.

Question 2

How often do people typically need therapy?

Accepted Answer

People come to therapy for different reasons and goals, so this is a difficult question to answer precisely. Generally speaking, clients can start seeing progress on their goals within 6 to 8 months of sessions every other week, assuming they're coming in ready to consistently practice the skills and strategies we talk about in sessions.

Question 3

I’m considering therapy for the first time. How does it work?

Accepted Answer

The best way to think of therapy is as a meaningful conversation with a supportive person who has your best interest at heart. At first, as I’m getting to know you and we’re setting treatments goals, I aim to act as a mirror that reflects back to you what you’re saying, thinking, and doing so you can see yourself from slightly different angles and make adjustments as needed. During the ‘work’ phase of treatment, I will take on more of a coaching role, where I’ll teach you skills and strategies that can help you achieve your goals and give you pointers on how to use these consistently. Ultimately, though, you’re in control and we work at your pace.

Question 4

What ages do you work with?

Accepted Answer

I provide individual and couple therapy to adults 18 years of age and older. I also work with older adolescents (15 years of age and up) in the context of family therapy (meaning that I treat the whole family, not just the adolescent). Child psychotherapy is a specialized field, and I generally recommend that if you’re looking for therapy for a child, or for family therapy focused primarily on issues regarding parenting of a school age child, that you look for a licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in working with children, a certified play therapist, or a licensed child psychologist.

Question 5

How will I know this is a good fit?

Accepted Answer

Ultimately, you deserve to feel understood and supported by your therapist – like they have your best interest at heart and don’t judge you for what you’re going through. I aim to communicate such nonjudgmental support to everyone I meet, from the very first meeting. Sometimes, however, it may take a second or third session for someone to feel comfortable, so I would like the opportunity to see if we can work together. If by the third session you still don’t feel like I really ‘get’ you, though, it’s okay to tell me. I won’t take it personally, I promise. Just tell me it’s not working, and I can help you get references for other professionals that may be a better fit for you.

Question 6

What does a session look like?

Accepted Answer

Think of a session as a meaningful conversation, and as such, it is a collaborative process. I’ll start by asking what’s new and noteworthy in your life since we last spoke. I may also ask if there’s anything you want to focus on besides what we’ve been working on. This is your opportunity to introduce any topics or issues that have been on your mind as of late. Then, if there is time, I will pick up where we left off in the last session – maybe we’ve been working on a family diagram, or maybe we’re still setting goals for therapy, or we’re utilizing EMDR to process through a traumatic memory, or you and your partner have been working on better understanding and resolving a specific issue in your relationship.

Question 7

What treatment models do you use?

Accepted Answer

The general framework that informs all my clinical work is Bowen Family Systems Theory (BFST), which looks at how anxiety gets dealt with and transmitted from generation to generation in families, affecting people’s relationships and functioning. I call this a ‘general framework’ because even when I use different models and “tools” in therapy, I’m still ‘thinking systems.’ For example, I also utilize the Gottman Method of Couple Therapy in my clinical work with couples (I have completed all the didactic training of the Method and am currently pursuing certification). Even then, my orientation and understanding of patterns within a couple’s relationship is still rooted in broader BFST concepts and perspectives. Same goes for when I use EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy for trauma recovery work.

Question 8

Why should I opt for a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist?

Accepted Answer

An LMFT specializes in systemic, or relational, therapy. This is a professional who has completed at least 3 years of graduate school (plus two years of supervised, pre-licensure clinical work) on what makes relationships work and what gets in the way of that. Although an LMFT can treat individuals and individual mental health disorders as well, their training in how relationships come together to create a context for individual functioning and development makes them uniquely equipped to intervene both at the individual and at the broader systemic (relational) context. It’s the difference between going to a general practitioner and a specialist.

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