General Approach for Counseling & Therapy for Santa Cruz

General Practice: I work with individuals (men and women), college students, couples, families, and teenagers of diverse cultural backgrounds and sexual and gender orientations. In my Santa Cruz therapy practice, my work with clients includes, but is not limited to the following:

• School & College Problems
• Issues Specific to Adolescence
• Effects of Trauma
• Feeling Stuck
• Personal Growth

Client-Centered & Strength-Based:

“Client-centered” means we start where you are, and then I help you get to where you want to be. Using a “Strength-Based” perspective means that we will draw upon your wisdom and experience to create personalized pathways to growth and change. I work collaboratively with you, and provide support and guidance to help you imagine, discover and create new possibilities for your life. I value and honor the perspectives of my clients and bring humor, warmth and connection to my work. Using this approach, many clients that I have worked with over the years have been able to make powerful changes in their lives by reducing stress, increasing self-awareness and developing more confidence. I also help clients learn new skills and use tools to improve emotional regulation and daily functioning. We work to improve communication and relationship skills while healing old hurts, and growing themselves into the people they want to be.

Counseling or Psychotherapy?

I provide both short-term counseling and longer-term, in-depth psychotherapy. A few clients come knowing just what they want from their therapy work, but more often folks need help defining what they hope to accomplish. I work with clients to determine meaningful goals and seek the appropriate approach to accomplish them. Short-term Counseling is best for specific, well-defined issues like adjusting to a move or new job, or addressing defined couples issues like role negotiations or basic communication skills. In-depth Psychotherapy is effective for working on more long-term problems or changing well-developed patterns of thinking, feeling, acting or relating to others.

Getting Started:

Contact me for a free 15-minute phone consultation at either  (831) 426-4800 or schedule an appointment.

Resources: At my office, I have an extensive library for clients to explore. Please visit the “Resources” section of my website for Suggested Books and Articles and Websites that reflect the many ideas I draw from, and influences to my work.