I am beginning my 32nd year as a psychotherapist and continue to feel honored each time I meet with a new client. The psychotherapeutic relationship is a collaborative effort to identify and understand what has caused the conflicts and problems that seem to get in the way of happiness. Together we "put the puzzle together" so that clients can find new ways to live more meaningful lives.
Because one person cannot specialize in every mental health topic, I work with a group of professionals; each of whom has specific mental health expertise so that together, we can help with most any mental health issue. See www.birminghammaple.com.
I work with individuals, couples and families experiencing relationship conflicts, LGBT issues, anxiety, depression, coping with chronic illness, grief and loss, and more. Approximately half of my practice consists of couples counseling.
My philosophical approach to treating heterosexual and same-sex couples involves the basic belief that maintaining lifelong relationships involves conscious effort and dilligent work to keep the relationship vital and healthy. Couples often believe that marriage should be 'easier' just because they love each other and that there is 'no good reason to have anger in a truly good marriage.' Often my job involves teaching couples what a 'healthy relationship' entails. Communication, compromise, understanding one's own needs and the needs of their partner, how to express and share intimacy, and accepting each other's differences are some of the important areas to understand in order to have a healthy, lifelong relationship. Couples I have treated have struggled with addiction, infidelity, betrayal, "falling out of love," sexual dysfunction, and many other presenting problems.
