Emotionally Focused Therapists in Essington, PA

Sometimes life hands us difficult challenges. As a Marriage and Family Therapist with over 20 years of experience, I can help you find solutions to life's problems. In therapy you will learn how to heal and strengthen your relationship with yourself and how to create a more loving connection with your partner. I incorporate a mix of psychological, educational and spiritual approaches, including EFT and EMDR, to assist in the letting go of disturbing thoughts and feelings, daily relational conflicts and emotional distancing. It is deeply rewarding for me when clients come to experience themselves as confident and lovable, their partner safe and valuable.

Are you feeling distant from each other in your marriage? Have painful hurts piled up and pushed you apart? As you juggle careers and kids does your life together feel more and more miserable? Maybe you have tried to change how you relate, but you feel stuck. In the safe space of therapy, I will listen to you both as we identify the ruts you get trapped in and the strengths that help keep you together.

Good therapeutic experiences are created through a balance of support and challenge in the context of a good therapeutic relationship. As a therapist, I try to create support by listening carefully, trying hard to understand, highlighting your strengths, validating your experiences, and celebrating your growth. I try to provide challenge by encouraging you to develop insight into your your situation, presenting concerns. thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and considering what, if anything, you want to change about these things.

I am a PhD intern in Marriage and Family Therapy. I focus on attachment studies, including Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), which I utilize in my work with individuals and couples. In my master’s degree, I focused on trauma and grief. I have over 12 years of experience working with clients who have experienced chronic and terminal illnesses, grief, and loss in the palliative and hospice care field. I also work with couples who experience emotional and sexual distress in their relationships.

I specialize in issues of trauma, grief and loss, depression, anxiety, immigration, relationships and life transitions. I also integrate the power of art and poetry into my work when applicable. I work with children, teens, adults, families, and couples. I have completed advanced trauma therapy training in EMDR, and couples EFT. "My approach is to always respect the dignity of each person and honor each story in a non-judgmental way. I value the sacredness of your story and experiences". New Grief, Loss & Connection Group accepting new clients Sept 2024 www.phoenixtraumacenter.com/grief-loss-and-connection/.

I look froward to helping you plan for your partnership or marriage instead of your wedding day! I specialize in working with couples who are pondering the idea of a life time partnership and marriage that want to plan for their life that includes skills such as effective communication, conflict resolution, and parenting.

Are you struggling in a relationship and finding yourself stuck in a negative cycle with someone you love? Do you find that all your good intentions lead you further from connection? The closest relationship is where the biggest hurts happen because this person means so much to us. Often we are stuck in a cycle where there is no good move. We fight for our connection, and things blow up. We tuck away our pain, and we feel further apart. This feels like so much pressure, and often a hopeless place to be.

At Thriveworks, we're dedicated to providing top-tier mental health services that are easily accessible to everyone. With over 340 locations nationwide and flexible online therapy options, our professional therapists are equipped to assist you through any stress, life transitions, or ongoing mental health concerns. We prioritize your convenience and needs by offering flexible scheduling, including evening and weekend appointments, ensuring that you can start your therapy journey as early as this week. Plus, we accept most major insurance plans, making your path to mental health support smoother and more affordable.

I successfully treat individuals and couples in distress, often when life circumstances change. I help them understand and then alter the factors that interfere with their functioning. Sessions with me frequently focus on problematic relationships because so many problems stem from issues in current and past relationships. Furthermore, regardless of what causes problems, we are often empowered to address them when we have support from others. I strive to be warm, non-judgmental, and, when needed, verbally interactive, to foster the emotional safety and confidentiality that are essential for honest, productive self-examinations.

As a Licensed Professional Counselor, I have experience (and enjoy!) working with clients of all ages. I regularly work with children as young as 4, adolescents, college-age clients, and adults alike. I am equipped to help clients who are experiencing symptoms related to depression, anxiety, anger, ADHD, self-esteem, body image, eating habits/behaviors, divorce, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, relationships, behavioral concerns, sexuality and gender exploration (LGBTQIA+), academic or school issues, and phase of life adjustment or transitions.

With a focus on family of origin exploration, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and Emotionally Focused Therapy, I promote developmental growth in individuals, couples and families in areas of communication, conflict resolution, relational skills, grief/loss, and recovery from trauma.

Finding the right therapist can be overwhelming when seeking therapy, but that is where I come in. I view the Psychotherapy process as a team effort where we work together to work through your trauma or relationship problems. I love building a rapport with my couples to work through the healing process together.

Our clients are sensitive, thoughtful adults who have experienced childhood abuse, neglect, and overall family dysfunction and have found ways to appear like they "have it all together" on the outside, but internally are suffering with painful memories, feelings of deep shame, and an overall sense of unworthiness. In our work with adults who have been raised by emotionally immature parents, we help clients re-discover, or perhaps discover for the first time, a true sense of self and identity. Many of our clients are parents who are committed to breaking the cycle of intergenerational trauma for the good of their children.

You deserve to be happy. Therapy doesn't have to painful. I want to find out about you and help you find the solutions that work for you. Life is too short to be in bad relationships, or to let trauma control us or to be anxious and angry all the time. I want you to be free of emotional pain, able to deal with life on life's terms, and to find meaning and purpose in your family, friendships, work, spirituality and all other life's areas. During my 24 years as a therapist I have helped individuals, couples and families find healing and understanding.

I most enjoy helping others build a strong internal relationship that fosters self-trust and confidence in all that you encounter throughout your life. Some topics I enjoy working on with clients most: understanding core beliefs, values, and limitations; grief and loss; relationships and sex (I work with individuals and couples); as well as binge eating and how to reconnect with the body. I take a very relational and modern approach to therapy. You should feel like you're talking to a REAL person, someone with an actual personality and feedback – not someone robotically nodding.

It is my honor to collaborate with clients as they access their strengths and resilience to make and maintain meaningful change. I work to create a warm, non-judgment, and trauma-informed therapy space, so we can develop an individualized treatment plan tailored to your personal values and needs. We then partner together as we explore the many facets and layers of you, your family, and your environment in order to help you learn more about yourself, understand your struggles, and make concrete changes in your life. I believe in a person’s ongoing ability to grow and change and it is my pleasure to partner with you on that journey.

Why go to therapy? We all want to feel accepted, understood, and loved. I help individuals, couples, and families achieve those goals. I also specialize in teens and young adults struggling with a variety of psychological issues. I utilize a holistic approach that sees everything as being part of a bigger system, and careful thought is given to how different parts of the system affect our lives. Using an integrative approach that incorporates attachment theory, EFT, and CBT, I work with clients to resolve struggles from their past and their present in order to heal and take ownership of their lives.

I pride myself in offering nonjudgmental therapeutic services to help individuals, couples, and families overcome challenges and achieve positive mental health outcomes. I believe in creating a warm and structured space where clients feel safe exploring their thoughts, emotions, and personal experiences. Through utilizing evidence-based therapeutic approaches, such as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT), I am able to tailor my interventions to meet clients' specific needs and goals.

Laura is a Marriage and Family Therapist who is passionate about cultivating meaningful and healing relationships with her clients by working with each client individually to understand and empathize with their unique set of challenges and needs. Laura’s approach to therapy is taking on a compassionate, caring, and genuine therapeutic stance with all of her clients, creating a safe and warm environment for everyone who walks through her door. She uses a multitude of systemic approaches when working with her clients, with an emphasis on Emotionally Focused Therapy and The Gottman Method, in which she holds a Level 3 certification.