Psychosis and Schizophrenia

In my practice I specialize solely in psychosis and clinical high risk for psychosis using an evidence based CBT approach. Labels and specific diagnosis are irrelevant. I take a person centered, truly collaborative approach to help you overcome your distress and achieve your goals.

I have specialized training in Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Recovery (PSR) and utilize several evidence-based treatments to include: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Psychosis, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Psychosis, Illness Management and Recovery, and Social Skills Training.

When symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions, begin we can often recognize them as worrisome and questionable. As time passes, however, locked into this mind space of fearful questioning, these symptoms can progress and overtake in a debilitating way. With medication + therapy, one can learn the skills necessary to process and manage these thoughts and experiences, and with ample support it is completely possible to live a meaningful and fulfilling existence.

I have received specialized training in CBT for Psychosis. I have worked in community mental health, a psychiatric hospital, and a residential facility where individuals experience psychosis regularly. This approach is helpful for individuals who have some insight, support, and/or want to learn how to manage psychosis in more ways than just medication.

I worked for 10 years at the state psychiatric hospital in Medical Lake, WA. Many of the patients there were chronically mentally ill and most suffered with some degree of psychosis.

I have experience with clients who suffer from mental health diagnoses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression and anxiety and this has enabled me to understand the many forms suffering can take.

I am trained and certified in both the SCID (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM Disorders) and the SIPS (Structured Interview for Prodromal Syndromes) which help to clarify a diagnosis as well as to assess for psychic features that may be indicative of a psychotic disorder. The SCID can help to clarify a diagnosis while the SIPS will help us to hone in on what we call prodomal symptoms. One or both of these may be used in detecting fitness for this treatment.

I specialize in treating young adults within their first episode of psychosis, often times after a recent hospitalization or as they begin to adjust to their life following a diagnosis. I enjoy working with this population, as I understand the nuances of psychosis but also recognize they are navigating the normal stressors of this age. I also enjoy providing family therapy and education to families and loved ones of this population.

In graduate school I researched the connection between trauma and psychosis. I created a treatment modality for treating first acute episodes of psychosis in adolescents. Utilizing the research of John Weir Perry and the theories of Carl Jung, my approach is non-pathologizing. I assist adolescents in understanding the connection to the themes in their delusions and hallucinations and their adverse life experience. By connecting the unconscious symbolism in the altered state experience into their conscious understanding, adolescents will be able to heal from their trauma and will be better able to develop coping skills to manage those experiences when they occur. I utilize mindfulness to assist them in developing skills to regulate their anxiety in response to the experiences. Combined this usually results in a decrease in symptoms.

I have specialized training in CBT for psychosis and spent a significant portion of my early career in a coordinated specialty care program for first episode psychosis.

I treat schizophrenia spectrum disorders (schizophrenia, schizoaffective), and substance induced psychosis.

Psychosis and Schizophrenia get awful representation in society and in media. We'll work together on learning how and why your brain does what it does, how to help it overcome its true challenge (spoiler: it's probably anxiety! Advanced and creative anxiety!), and how to help you move forward in life without being so strongly affected by the information and how you experience it.

Supporting individuals and families to manage symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and agitations while maintaining healthy, supportive relationships.

I specialize in working with teens and young adults who have recently begun experiencing voices, visions, strange beliefs, and isolation, which may later be diagnosed as psychosis or schizophrenia. I am informed by the Hearing Voices and Open Dialogue approaches and believe that hearing voices and related experiences can be a natural part of life and can be managed and understood. In order to work with these experiences in private practice, clients must have an involved family support system.

A person with psychosis has confusion about what is real, sometimes called a loss of contact with reality. Psychosis can disrupt thoughts and perceptions that make it difficult for a person to differentiate between the reality they perceive and the shared reality of others. Psychosis is a key symptom of schizophrenia, but can also be caused by substance use or other disorders. It has the potential to be disabling, but can also be well-managed with proper therapy and medication.