Sense-making Approach
My work as a psychotherapist is to approach and meet everyone as openly and creatively as possible. Human beings are sense-making – we are shaped by the meaning we make in our lives. No matter our role or identity within culture and society – at the fundamental level we seek to make sense of the world and lives around us. Oftentimes, the ways in which we make sense of the people, structures and lives around us can become old, worn-out, tired and no longer serve the original purpose they intended. These defense mechanisms, creative adjustments and compensations do serve a purpose for a time – but they also hold us back from the feeling of living fulfilling lives. You can only walk around with a limp for so long. When we feel unhappy we literally sense ourselves as lacking energy, vitality, spirit. This is why our bodies can feel so exhausted when we are depressed.
The psychotherapeutic process can be seen as a way of navigating or coming to many compromises with one’s aim in life and their creative adjustments. We can’t just be who we were – we have to continually become who we are. This is the process of living through making sense of the life around us. Life is precarious. We adapt at times imperfectly to these precarious circumstances. You often hear the old adage that you can’t choose the card you’re dealt but you can choose what to do with the cards you were dealt with.
Psychotherapy is one of the many methods in which one can attempt to orient themselves in their life-world. My work is to encourage an opening of creative use of self. What I mean by this isn’t merely artistic pursuit. But an artistic approach to life is often advantageous because it reengages our senses with the world. It is as challenging as ever before to make sense of the sociopolitical world. Who am I in this world? Who do I want to be? How do I do it? My psychotherapeutic approach is to create a space for you to creatively engage in your world, help you make sense of it and offer you ways of dealing with problematic symptoms that may have brought you to seek therapy in the first place. There are many ways to engage self-exploration – creating a podcast, changing careers, spiritually, artistically, traveling, woodworking, psychedelics etc. But the work we do together won’t focus on those pursuits in themselves, they will focus on exploring what would support the pursuit of those. Especially if one is feeling stuck.
Areas of Practice
I apply the following modalities in my work with both individuals and couples. The treatment plans are tailored to suit individual needs and readiness.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy & Dialectical Behaviour Therapy
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a psycho-social intervention that aims to improve mental health. CBT focuses on challenging and changing unhelpful cognitive distortions and behaviors, improving emotional regulation, and the development of personal coping strategies that target solving current problems.
Gestalt Therapy
The “here and now” gets talked about a lot—being present, being in the moment, just being—but what does that actually mean, and how does it relate to psychotherapy?
Through meditation, music, or Gestalt therapy, we can learn to anchor ourselves in the present: not replaying the past, not getting lost in future worries or plans, but actually experiencing what is happening right now. This present‑moment focus can be deeply transformative. It’s also the space where we can most clearly notice ourselves, our relational and behavioural patterns, and our capacity to choose something different.
People often start therapy in response to a crisis or transition—relationship strain, bereavement, job loss—or because of a more diffuse sense of unease, flatness, or disconnection from their own life. Others are drawn by a desire for greater aliveness and depth. Working in the here and now speaks to all of these situations, because it’s only in the present moment that real change can be experienced and embodied.
In our work together, focusing on the present means I offer a space that is both supportive and gently challenging, where you can safely increase your awareness.
I do this by bringing a non‑judgmental, open, and receptive presence, and by acting as an engaged, reflective witness to what unfolds between us and within you. Therapy becomes a co‑creative process that can unblock stuck energy, clear the fog, and expand your sense of choice. Over time, many people feel more alive, more connected, and more able to shape a life that feels like their own.
While my foundation is in Gestalt therapy, I also draw from psychoanalytic thinking, psychodrama, and creative approaches such as art and music. I work with individuals, couples, and groups. For people who aren’t local, I offer phone sessions, and I’m also using secure video sessions so that we can meet while you’re in the comfort of your own space.
Emotionally Focused Couples & Family Therapy
In my work with couples, I use Emotionally Focused Couples Therapy (EFCT) to help partners understand and gently shift the patterns that keep them stuck. Together, we slow down reactive cycles—blame, withdrawal, shutdown—and uncover the softer feelings and unmet needs underneath. By creating a safe, attuned space, I support each partner in reaching for the other in clearer, more vulnerable ways, so that conflict becomes an opportunity to build secure bonding, deeper trust, and a more resilient emotional connection.