Washington DC Individual Counseling for Gay and Straight Men and Women

Depressed? Anxious? Struggling in your Relationship or with Career Issues?
Difficulties with Family Members? Just Feeling Stuck?

I Can Help You to Feel Better, Be Stronger, and Move Forward.  

My aim is to help you develop the abilities, strength, and resilience to deal with the challenges and curveballs of life, so that you can thrive even when you are facing difficult times.

In my Washington DC practice, I help gay and straight individuals with a wide variety of challenges, including:

• Alleviating depression
• Reducing anxiety
• Improving intimate relationships and family relationships
• Effectively managing job stress
• Resolving struggles with sexual orientation
• Achieving a pleasurable sex life
• Healing from grief, loss, and other trauma
• Ending substance use
• Improving self-esteem
• Coping with concerns about aging

If you’re considering individual therapy, you’re probably having a tough time right now.  Maybe you’re sad or depressed, hoping that psychotherapy can help you move forward and feel better.

Or maybe you’re tired of anxiety stopping you from moving forward in life, and wanting some help from counseling.

Perhaps you can’t get past some traumatic experiences. Or maybe you don’t feel good about yourself, no matter how much praise others may give you; and you’re hoping to develop the self-esteem that others seem to have.

You may feel stuck in life, wondering why you can’t find or consistently follow a path that brings fulfillment in your career, friendships, or romantic relationships.

You may be struggling in your marriage, hoping to achieve a happier relationship or a better sex life.

Perhaps you are looking for counseling because you need help breaking free of substance use or addiction.

Or, you may simply be seeking to create a more satisfying, richer, and more meaningful life.

If you want to feel better, but are having difficulty making progress, I will work to help you develop the vision, strategies, support, and focus to find solutions and move forward.

I have a doctorate in clinical psychology; many years of advanced training to effectively work with individuals; and many years of experience helping individuals here in the Washington DC area.  And I’m passionate about helping people transcend their limitations so that they can lead rich, satisfying, and connected lives.

These principles guide my individual therapy work:

• All of us get stuck at times.
• The things we naturally do to protect ourselves from pain, sadness, and anxiety can also get in our way and keep us stuck.  I will help you work on the hard stuff so that you can get unstuck.
• I help clients develop the resilience and strength to overcome the challenges that life throws in our way.
• Anxiety about making changes is inevitable. I will help you learn ways to calm yourself so that you can move forward toward a better life, even when doing so is scary.
• Many factors can affect our mental health.  I’ll help you develop the knowledge and ability to take optimum care of yourself, so you can feel and be your best self.
• It is possible to choose how you want to conduct yourself and live your life, even if you face obstacles.  Doing so is a powerful way to build self-esteem.

Here’s what to expect from an individual therapy session in my Washington DC Office:

In our first meeting, we’ll start by talking about what is bringing you in.  I will be asking questions to get a sense of the big picture of your life and the difficulties you are experiencing, and of course you will also have a chance to ask me questions so that we can get a good sense of whether we’re a good fit to move forward working together.

In future sessions, we will work together on strategies to help you be more solid and resilient.  Of course, we’ll also address how difficult it can be to make change and how you can deal with your own discomfort around doing things differently.

I have been providing individual counseling since 1995 and encourage you to check out my blog posts to get a sense of my work as a psychologist.

Additionally, I write an advice column in the Washington Blade.

Whether you’re an individual or partnered, gay or straight, living in Washington DC or beyond, I look forward to working with you.