Relationship-Focused Psychiatry
Preparing your mental health foundation for personal flourishing and better relationships
So many of our joys and sorrows in life will come from our choice of spouse. On top of that journey, there is the added layer of our own mental health. The scars of past trauma, or conditions like depression and anxiety can overwhelm us with warped worries and hopelessness. They make it hard to see situations objectively. Pre-relationship work with a psychiatrist empowers you to make sound, clear-eyed decisions for yourself in choosing partners and nurturing fulfilling relationships.
To get out of a cycle of relationships that don’t work, or to heal after a divorce or breakup, targeted psychotherapy and medications (where appropriate) can help. We do the kind of therapy that gets to the root of your problems and connects the dots so you can move forward.
Medications can take it further, and do many things like calm down obsessive thought spirals, reduce disturbing nightmares, and reduce cravings for addictive substances/behaviors/binge eating you might have used to cope with your stress and pain.
Online booking makes it easy
If you’ve been feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or depressed, the last thing you want to do is make phone calls to clinic after clinic that might not even have availability. Book directly into the clinic schedule on your own. Start with a free 15-minute phone consultation to clarify what’s been bothering you and how we can reach your goals. Or, jump in with a full visit.
Healing from breakups, trauma, and more
Rather than couples counseling with a particular partner, our approach starts and ends with you—your mental health, childhood family dynamic, past hurts, and more. You are the person with you every moment of your life.
In psychotherapy, we break free from old patterns you may be unaware of. We practice skills to thrive emotionally, like setting boundaries and strengthening your support system. This sets you on a path of romantic agency and success, and more importantly, harnesses a huge source of energy for our ultimate goal of deeper health.
Conditions I typically treat include:
PTSD, including “c-PTSD”
borderline personality disorder
depression
social anxiety, general anxiety
panic attacks
insomnia
bipolar disorder
schizophrenia
OCD
eating disorders
gambling addiction, pornography addiction, and other behavioral addictions
body dysmorphia
ADHD
personality disorders including narcissistic, antisocial, schizoid, dependent, etc
Some issues commonly addressed in therapy:
Healing after a breakup or divorce
Recovering from sexual violence, even if it was considered consensual at the time
Impact of parents’ divorce and/or father leaving the family, “daddy issues”
Finding oneself in unwanted dynamics (eg “situationships”) over and over
Weight issues, sometimes associated with trauma
Codependency in relationships
Emotional volatility that feels out of control
Aging and self-worth in dating
Social/communication impacts of ADHD, and behavioral techniques to improve
Feeling suffocated or taken advantage of by family members
Estrangement from family members