This isn’t therapy as you know it.
A functional, first-principles approach, not a diagnosis-first one.
A first-principles approach
I take a functional, non-pathologizing approach. Diagnoses tell us little about the nature of your problem. Our work begins with understanding your experience—what’s happening, why it persists, and how it fits together.
Symptoms aren’t defects to eliminate. They’re clues to investigate. Your pain points to some unresolved conflict or present incongruence. By tracing a symptom to its roots and addressing the underlying function, we change the system that produces it.
Functional Psychotherapy
There is no single theory of psychotherapy that explains all problems. Different models capture different aspects of how change occurs.
I practice theoretical integration: the disciplined synthesis of multiple theories into a coherent, functional framework, then applied selectively rather than uniformly.
The aim is simple; the process is complex: identify problems at their roots, disrupt the avoidance maintaining them, and apply a theory-informed mix of top-down and bottom-up processes to resolve them.
Below are the primary theories informing this work:
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Attachment theory considers how early bonds and caregiver responsiveness shape us. In therapy, we consider how these experiences color current relational construing and look to repair attachment wounds.
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I use some principles of these approaches, in select instances, for example, considering the role of acceptance and values-based action in building resilience and living meaningfully.
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Constructivism views us as meaning-makers. In therapy, we examine and reconstrue the meanings you have made while fostering flexibility, coherence, and deeper self-understanding.
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Existentialism considers meaning, freedom, and responsibility. In therapy, we cultivate an awareness of the fragility of our existence, thereby enriching our experience by living with immediacy, congruence, and accountability to maximize meaning, every day.
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These emphasize present-awareness, emotional processing, and personal responsibility. In therapy, we focus on integrating conflicting parts, deepening experiencing, and fostering authentic expression to promote bottom-up growth and healing.
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Humanism centers growth, authenticity, and depth in the relationship. In therapy, we consider the healing potential of self-awareness and adaptive change through empathy, experiential processing, and building a coherent sense-of-self.
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This considers how our relationships and roles in them, shape us. In therapy, we explore recurrent relational patterns, self-other dynamics, and the influence of past experiences then identify and shift maladaptive patterns and promoting more fulfilling connections.
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Memory reconsolidation is the brain’s process for updating memories. In therapy, we elicit transformational change by reactivating painful memories and then encountering experiential mismatches to them. In so doing, we aim to dispel symptoms at their core.
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We consider how trauma at critical developmental periods can impact later construing. For example, injuries in early childhood might lead to an egocentric worldview (Piaget) or chronic shame and low self-worth in adulthood (Erickson).
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These emphasize unconscious processes, internal conflicts, and early experiences. Short-term dynamic therapies challenge defenses and use intense emotional engagement to accelerate symptom relief, aiming for rapid transformative change.
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These target how trauma is held in the body and nervous system. In therapy, we work with bodily states and reprocess painful memories directly, discharging stuck survival responses so that the body—not just the intellect—learns the danger has passed.
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Strategic therapy disrupts conscious and unconscious patterns, bypassing resistance with irreverence, paradox, and reframing. Hypnotic principles and inductive techniques can activate innate strengths and unconscious resources to facilitate rapid and lasting change.
