I addition to individual therapy, I offer Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) classes in the community. MBSR an 8-week evidence-based group program that focuses on the progressive acquisition of mindfulness. The program includes weekly group meetings, home practice, instruction, and a day-long guided retreat. To fully benefit from this program, you will need to make a strong commitment to attend all classes and to practice daily home assignments. If you are unable to make it to a class in the community, I can tailor the curriculum to fit into individual sessions.
Mindfulness practitioners learn how to pay attention on purpose by practicing specially developed mindfulness meditation practices which have been found to benefit some individuals dealing with ADHD, anxiety, depression, chronic pain, stress, fatigue, anger, headaches, high blood pressure, sleep problems, and more. However, mindfulness takes practice and commitment and is not a ‘cure’. Being mindful can make it easier to savor the pleasures in life as they occur, help you become fully engaged in activities, deepen resiliency, increase self-compassion, and create a greater capacity to deal with adverse events. I’ve completed intensive teacher training at the Mindfulness-Based Professional Teacher Training Institute at UC San Diego, and I participated in the two year Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program facilitated by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach through the Greater Good Science Center of UC Berkeley.
Eye Movement Sensitization Reprocessing (EMDR) is a trauma therapy that can be a great alternative to and/or addition to traditional talk therapy. EMDR can help alleviate distress from traumatic memories and help reformulate negative beliefs and decreasing reactivity. During treatment, you are asked to think or talk about memories, triggers, and painful emotions while simultaneously focusing on your therapist’s moving finger, a light bar, or another form of bilateral stimuli. In a typical EMDR therapy session, you might focus on a traumatic memory and the negative emotions and beliefs associated while tracking the light bar with your eyes as it moves back and forth across your field of vision. For those who do not care for doing this visually, there are other forms of bilateral stimuli that may be used in EMDR therapy including tactile sensations, sounds, or tapping. I am trained in Somatic Attachment Focused EMDR (S.A.F.E.).