Approach
While I Focus on Psychoanalytic (psychodynamic) Psychotherapy,
I also offer Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Schema therapy. Treatment is available in English and in Hebrew.
Psychoanalytic (psychodynamic)
psychotherapy
Our early experiences play an important role in shaping how our minds work, and much of the way our mind operates leans on our unconscious awareness.
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy involves a process of exploration undertaken by the therapist and patient together in order to gain an understanding of the conscious and unconscious elements in the patient’s life.
During the session, patients are encouraged to reflect on whatever they deem as important – feelings, thoughts, wishes, fears, memories and dreams can all be explored.
In this way, patients are able to better understand the unconscious processes affecting their conscious thinking and behaviour.
Psychotherapy can gradually bring about a degree of self-understanding and increased awareness of how past experiences can affect daily life. This opens up a window for self-exploration, and more ways of being, understanding and coping with difficulties.
Sessions are typically once a week and 50 minutes long.
*Source: British psychotherapy foundation bpf
Schema therapy
Schema therapy is considered an effective way of conceptualizing and treating personality disorders.
It is an integrative approach that brings together elements from cognitive behavioural therapy, attachment and object relations theories, and Gestalt and experiential therapies.
The goal of schema therapy is to help patients get their core emotional needs met. Key steps in accomplishing this involve learning how to:
- Stop using counter-productive coping mechanisms
- Incorporate reasonable limits for angry, impulsive or overcompensating schemas and modes
- Fight punitive, overly critical or demanding schemas and modes
- Build healthy schemas and modes
- Heal schemas and vulnerable modes through getting needs met in and outside of the therapeutic relationship
*Source: International Society of Schema Therapy ISST
Cognitive Behavioural
Therapy
(CBT)
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a form of psychological treatment that has been demonstrated to be effective for a range of different problems.
In many cases, our psychological problems are based on unhelpful patterns of thinking and behaviours.
CBT is based on the approach that people suffering from psychological problems can learn better ways of coping with them to perform more effectively in their life.
CBT treatment usually involves efforts to change thinking patterns. These strategies can include:
- Using problem-solving skills to cope with difficult situations.
- Learning to develop a greater sense of confidence in one’s own abilities.
- Gaining a better understanding of the behaviour and motivation of others.
- Learning to recognise one’s distortions in thinking that lead to problems, and reevaluate them in light of reality.
CBT treatment also usually involves efforts to change behavioural patterns. These strategies may include:
- Facing one’s fears instead of avoiding them.
- Using role-playing to prepare for potentially problematic interactions with others.
- Learning to calm one’s mind and relax one’s body.
*Source: American psychological association APA.org