Megan’s Approach
My approach to treatment is both integrative and interpersonal. These approaches incorporate evidence-based practices, such as emotion focused therapy (EFT), internal family systems (IFS), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Gottman, mindfulness and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). My therapeutic approaches focus on helping clients develop greater understanding of themselves and their emotions, explore and recognize patterns within relationships and behaviors, and learn to utilize emotional and relational insight to develop skills to take more effective action moving forward.
I am certified in integrative relationship therapy (IRT), which is a modality that focuses on integrating cut off parts of the self. By integrating separated parts, clients can reach a place of greater acceptance and fulfillment, and reduce negative thought, feeling, and relational patterns.
How can you expect me to be?
You can expect me to be genuine, warm, and non-judgmental – I can be direct at times, and I believe honesty and transparency (from each of us!) is the best practice. I like to incorporate humor when appropriate and I try to not take myself too seriously. I see us each as an expert in the room – you are an expert on you and I am the expert on the practice and science of psychology – therefore, collaboration is key for positive treatment outcomes.
Timeframe and Frequency
Our work together may be short-term and solution-focused, or it may develop into long-term, attachment-based therapy.
What does that mean?
Some clients come into therapy in “crisis mode” or have a specific concern and/or symptom(s) that feel time sensitive, and once resolved they are no longer in need of support. That is an example of more solution-focused work that may only last a few sessions and/or weeks.
Alternatively, there are clients that present for therapy wanting to address long-standing attachment and relational patterns that typically require longer-term work – this can be many months or even years.
These are examples of a spectrum of what to expect for a treatment timeframe and depending on what your needs are the timeframe for therapy can land somewhere along this spectrum.
Frequency of appointments is most commonly weekly, particularly, at the onset of treatment. This gives us a chance to get to know each other, for you to become familiar and more comfortable in the therapeutic space – therapy is a unique experience and can be very uncomfortable for some! – and for progress to begin and made more readily. Although meeting weekly is most common, everyone’s treatment needs are different, and I accommodate frequency needs and expectations for each client accordingly. Some clients meet biweekly, monthly, or as needed. I do not hold recurring appointment times for those meeting less frequently than biweekly, but I do schedule monthly and as needed appointments when there are openings.