How I Practice Psychotherapy: A Collaborative, Evidenced-based Approach
With over 30 years of experience as a clinical psychologist, I have had the privilege of working with people from all walks of life, helping them navigate personal challenges and cultivate meaningful, fulfilling lives. My approach to psychotherapy is integrative, drawing from multiple evidence-based modalities, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Mindfulness-Based Interventions, and Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy (EFT). In this blog post, I intend to provide you with a clear understanding of these therapeutic approaches and what it might be like to work with me in therapy.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT): Psychological Flexibility and Living with Meaning
ACT is an effective psychotherapeutic approach that encourages psychological flexibility—the ability to stay present, open, and engaged with life, even in the face of difficult emotions. Psychological inflexibility, in contrast, occurs when we become stuck in rigid thought patterns, avoid difficult emotions, and attempt to control our internal experiences. Avoidance and attempts to suppress thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations often contribute to maintaining distress rather than resolving it, resulting in being stuck with problem thoughts, emotions and behaviors.
One of ACT’s core components is cognitive defusion, which helps us reduce the impact of distressing thoughts by altering how we relate to them rather than trying to eliminate them. Another key component is mindfulness, which cultivates nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment, allowing us to disengage from unhelpful thought loops (rumination) and over-thinking.
ACT also emphasizes values, identifying and clarifying what truly matters to us, committing to and taking action in alignment with those values. Additionally, self-as-context helps us recognize that we are not our thoughts, emotions, or behaviors but rather we are observers of our own internal experiences. The distinction between who we are and our experiences is fundamental to liberating ourselves from self-judgement. By integrating these principles, ACT empowers us to embrace psychological and emotional discomfort and pursue the rich, meaningful life we want for ourselves.
What working with me in ACT might look like: We may explore how avoidance of painful thoughts and feelings may be limiting your life. Through experiential exercises, metaphors, and mindfulness strategies, I guide you in understanding how to relate to your automatic thoughts, how to act rather than avoid, how to practice accepting what you cannot change while committing to actions that that create the life that you want.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Restructuring Thoughts for Emotional Well-Being
CBT is one of the most widely researched and effective therapeutic approaches. It focuses on identifying and restructuring unhelpful thought patterns that contribute to emotional distress. Through CBT, we learn to challenge cognitive distortions, develop healthier thinking habits, and create lasting behavioral change.
What working with me in CBT might look like: Together, we identify thought patterns that may be contributing to your distress. I provide structured exercises and tools to help you develop more balanced and adaptive ways of thinking. We focus on practical strategies that can be applied in daily life to create real change.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Finding Balance and Emotional Regulation
DBT is particularly effective when struggling with emotional dysregulation, intense interpersonal conflicts, and self-destructive behaviors. It combines acceptance and change strategies, helping us build skills in mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.
What working with me in DBT might look like: I work collaboratively with you to develop specific coping skills to manage overwhelming emotions and navigate relationships effectively. We practice mindfulness techniques and explore ways to build a more balanced emotional life.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): Preventing Relapse and Cultivating Awareness
MBCT integrates principles of mindfulness with cognitive therapy techniques to help us break free from cycles of negative thinking (rumination), particularly when struggling with recurrent depression or anxiety and worry. By increasing awareness of thoughts and emotions without becoming entangled in them, MBCT helps us recognize early warning signs of distress and respond skillfully rather than reactively.
What working with me in MBCT might look like: We incorporate mindfulness practices such as body scans, meditation, and mindful breathing to develop greater self-awareness. By noticing thoughts as they arise and practicing nonjudgmental acceptance, you will learn to respond to difficult emotions with greater clarity and self-compassion.
Mindfulness-Based Interventions: Cultivating Awareness and Presence
Mindfulness is a foundational element in many of the approaches I use. By developing mindfulness skills, we practice being more present in the moment, reduce unskillful automatic reactions, and cultivate a more emotionally balanced way of being in the world. Mindfulness helps create space between thoughts, emotions, and reactions, allowing for more intentional and skillful responses to life's challenges.
What working with me in mindfulness-based therapy might look like: We integrate mindfulness practices such as breath awareness, body scans, and mindful self-compassion into sessions. These practices can help you develop greater awareness of your thoughts and emotions, reducing stress and increasing overall well-being.
Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy (EFT): Deepening Connection and Understanding
For couples, EFT provides a roadmap for building secure, resilient relationships. It focuses on identifying and transforming negative interaction patterns, fostering emotional safety, and strengthening attachment bonds.
What working with me in EFT might look like: We work together to uncover underlying emotional needs and patterns that may be contributing to relationship distress. I guide couples in developing new ways of relating that foster closeness, trust, and emotional security.
Resources for Learning About These Psychotherapy Approaches
If you're interested in learning more about these therapy approaches, I recommend the following books and websites:
Books:
Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life by Steven C. Hayes (ACT)
The Mindful Way Through Depression by Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, and Jon Kabat-Zinn (MBCT & Mindfulness)
Living beyond OCD: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (A Workbook For Adults) by Patricia E. Zurita Ona
The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Depression: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Move Through Depression and Create a Life Worth Living by Kirk D. Strosahl and Patricia J. Robinson.
The Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety: A Guide to Breaking Free from Anxiety, Phobias, and Worry Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy by John P. Forsyth and Georg H. Eifert.
The Mindful Way Workbook: An 8-Week Program to Free Yourself from Depression and Emotional Distress by John D. Teasdale, J. Mark G. Williams, and Zindel V. Segal.
ACT with Anxiety: An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Workbook to Get You Unstuck from Anxiety and Enrich Your Life by Richard Sears.
Overcoming harm OCD: mindfulness and CBT tools for coping with unwanted violent thoughts by Jon Hershfield MFT
The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris (ACT)
The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook by Matthew McKay, Jeffrey Wood, and Jeffrey Brantley (DBT)
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach (Mindfulness)
Living Beyond Your Pain: Using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to Ease Chronic Pain by Joanne Dahl and Tobias Lundgren.
Hold Me Tight by Sue Johnson (EFT)
Attached by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller (EFT & attachment theory)
Websites:
- Association for Contextual Behavioral Science ([www.contextualscience.org](http://www.contextualscience.org)) Visit the ACT page .
- National Association of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapists ([www.nacbt.org](http://www.nacbt.org)) (CBT)
- The Linehan Institute ([www.behavioraltech.org](http://www.behavioraltech.org)) (DBT)
- The Center for Mindful Self-Compassion ([www.centerformsc.org](http://www.centerformsc.org)) (Mindfulness)
- Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy ([www.mbct.com](http://www.mbct.com)) (MBCT)
- The International Centre for Excellence in Emotionally Focused Therapy ([www.iceeft.com](http://www.iceeft.com)) (EFT)