All practitioners in mental health have studied theories that influence how they view the situations their clients present. These theories lend themselves to ways of interacting with clients that bring about the best results. Click on the theories below for additional information.

Theories of Influence:
My practice has been greatly influenced by Systems Theory.  It holds that we are not just individual people interacting with other individual people, but are part of a larger context, or system, that influences the way we feel and behave. Systems can be the family we grew up with, our current family, a group of friends, or those with whom we work or volunteer. When we are trying to understand ourselves and behaviors we would like to change, understanding the larger context or group in which we function can provide new awareness of how to approach making a difference in our lives. Systems theory affects methods of working with couples, families and groups in that there is a belief that a change felt in one part of the system will create a change in the rest of the system as well.

Another influence in my practice is Cognitive Theory that believes helping a person or group think differently can lead to behavioral change. Also, that one does not need to know all of the history of a problem and have insight about the origin of problem for change and cure to occur.  Encouraging a client to think differently and behave differently, first as an experiment, can bring about great beneficial changes that then encourages deeper growth, emotional relief and insight afterwards.

My practice is also guided by Rogerian Theory, based on the work of Carl Rogers, who believed that much recovery and growth can occur through careful listening and neutral feedback that reflects what has been heard. Impartial listening helps clients to reconsider their difficulty and come to new clarity through sorting out what might have been a tangle of ideas prior to reflection. The theory has led to a method of active listening that I teach to couples, to help their communication skills with each other and which lowers judgmental destructive interaction.

I have studied extensively Developmental Theory which holds that in childhood there are predictable emotional behaviors exhibited at different points of development. Understanding these behaviors is helpful to parents when working in a family context.

A contemporary colleague of Freud’s, Alfred Adler, has significantly influenced my work with families with disruptive children. Adlerian Theory suggests that feelings of inferiority and superiority, for example, have a significant relationship to the development and behavior of children.