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PROFESSIONAL TRAINING and EXPERIENCE
My degrees include a BA in Psychology and a Masters in Clinical Social Work from the University of Texas, Austin. Following graduation I completed a two year program in marriage and family therapy from the Menninger School of Psychiatry and Mental Health Services. I am also trained to do EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Response) and ETT (Emotional Transformational Therapy). I am a certified supervisor of graduate students wishing to obtain licensure in the state of Texas. I have experience working with the chronically mental ill and their families, work in substance abuse hospitals and residential treatment for severely abused children and their families and work with the community domestic violence programs. I have more than 27 years of experience in the mental health field. I currently devote my attention almost exclusively to private practice where I treat individuals, couples, and families.
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PRACTICE PHILOSOPHY
I consider my work with clients as a collaborative enterprise in which we work as a team to define the goals and the obstacles to your success. I believe you, the client are the best expert on your particular issue/issues but I, as a therapist can provide an objective and sometimes new approach to how you think and behave. My personal practice preference is to understand you in the context of your family of origin, your cultural and educational experience, and your spiritual outlook on the world and your relationship to it and others. I further believe that often times we are saddled with old tapes and negative beliefs about ourselves that may be cultural or generational and while they may have been effective at one time, are no longer serving our best interests. Some issues are related only to the present situation or environment and may only need short term intervention (stress management, cognitive/behavioral changes). Other issues such as abuse, an alcoholic childhood home, domestic violence will need more intensive interventions such as talk therapy, EMDR and or ETT. I will discuss these with you at your first visit and we will make a decision together as to what treatment you may prefer. Because I believe the therapist/client relationship is essential to good treatment, I will ask you to assess your response to my personality and my style of therapy and decide for yourself if we are a good match. If you feel you would prefer a second opinion or another therapist for any reason, I will help to make an appropriate referral to another professional.
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