Attachment-Based Therapy relies on John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory to inform the therapeutic process. Attachment Theory emphasizes the quality of an infant’s connection to its parent, most primarily its mother. If a child is adequately cared for and responded to, they will grow up to form healthy relationships. If a mother is too distant, unresponsive, or overly cautious, the infant is more likely to grow up to experience unhealthy relationships. Children must get adequate care and love to learn to trust others and themselves.
Attachment-Based Therapy’s goal is to help you rebuild the context of your relationships in more healthy, positive ways. Your therapist will show you openness, caring, and empathy. You can experience what a healthy relationship looks and feels like through this therapeutic relationship.
Although therapists can use it for individual or group therapy, you may benefit from Attachment-Based Therapy in a family therapy setting.
Your therapist will help you discover your particular attachment style based on your relationship with your parents and your early memories of family relationships. They also will explore your current relationship dynamics as they relate to your upbringing. With this understanding, you and your therapist can then begin to restructure your existing relationships based on a foundation of love and trust.
Therapists Who Specialize in Using Attachment-Based Therapy
No matter the conditions, clients who experience the greatest benefit from counseling are the ones who come prepared to learn grow. Anyone who steps into my office with such an eagerness will also leave having gained something. I am not fixed on any one specific method and adapt my approach based on client need and personality. In addition to counseling, I also offer psychological and education...
Your heart is heavy. Heavy with trauma, with grief, anxiety, depression. With life stress, with life transitions, with the intense demands of work and motherhood and relationships. You feel disconnection, a lack of existential fulfillment. You have this person you want to be. These things you want to do. But you are stuck and you want to move forward in life; deeply, wholly, mindfully. You are...
If your life is fully functional, you don't have to struggle to understand why things are the way they are. It is when we hit a wall in our relationships, career or health that we get pushed out of our comfort zone and start looking for answers. People often think that they can deal with all these on their own. However, emotional wellbeing is essentially a two person process as we can only find...
Often we find ourselves carrying out the same unhealthy patterns in the present that were developed in earlier stages of life that allowed us to adapt and survive at that time. We carry old beliefs and views stemming from past trauma or from others' opinions and mistake the inner critic voice for our own. Many of my clients find themselves in the midst of transition in which these old patterns,...
I provide psychotherapy for people with a variety of mental health issues, including various mental illnesses, addiction/substance abuse, relationship challenges, and adjustment difficulties. Prior to psychotherapy, I worked for 14 years in social work with adults with severe and persistent mental illness. As I have worked with people from a wide range of backgrounds, beliefs, and orientations,...
Welcome! Prior to affiliating with Mount Helena Counseling, I was fortunate to provide psychotherapeutic support to individuals and families in the Helena area for over 18 years. My experience has allowed me to provide counseling to persons spanning the age continuum from adolescents to aging adults. My areas of expertise include end-of-life, grief and loss, palliative care, chronic illness,...
A lot of times therapists are asked to describe their "ideal client" and what this person would need and what they would want to work on. Honestly, my "ideal client" would be either an individual, couple or family who WANTS to get better, who WANTS to make changes to see progress and who WANTS to live a happier life while rebuilding their system. My "ideal client" would be someone who recognize...
Clients I see face a variety of challenges in both mental and behavioral health. Many clients feel symptoms of anxiety, depression, or both. For some, their goals are to alleviate symptoms to feel better in their day to day. They want to perform at the highest level and be their best selves. For others, their goals are to make behavioral changes. They want to take back control over their emotio...
As a counselor, my hope is to create a space where clients feel safe and can express themselves freely without fear or judgment. My goal is to work collaboratively with clients to build an understanding of how present and past events, emotional experiences, and relationships have shaped their life in order to improve their path of emotional well-being. I have experience primarily working with...
I create a space where you can feel safe and understood as we work together to overcome obstacles that keep you feeling stuck and unmotivated. Whether you are hurt by past relationships or locked in conflict with your family or friends, I want to come alongside you to help you understand your story, find new meaning in life, and become reconnected to those around you. I will help you get free f...
When even everyday tasks are overwhelming and healing from emotional trauma seems impossible, it can be hard to reach out for help. I would like to be a non-judgmental ally to you in this process. My approach to therapy is collaborative, innovative and adaptive. We will work together as a team to address the problems and issues that are important in helping you move forward, heal and improve yo...
We serve a wide range of clients, individuals, couples families who present with a wide range of issues including trauma, depression, anxiety, addictions, sexual issues, body symptoms. Our staff is trained to work with the whole person, mind, body and spirit, believing that within each person is the power to grow and heal from their issues if we can follow their process and within our issues li...
Through the therapeutic process, I partner with children, adolescents, and families as they navigate personal exploration and growth, trauma, mental health challenges, short and long-term stress, caregiver-child relationship dynamics, and family interaction challenges. I provide individual (child, teen, and adult) and family therapy. I invite clients to explore the connection between the...
Whether you’re processing major life events or looking for help coping with day-to-day issues, I’d be honored to join you on your journey. As a trauma survivor myself, I know first-hand the importance of having compassionate, attuned support for engaging in deep work. I offer a relational approach to therapy, drawing from my training in trauma, safety, attachment, and emotional regulation. The...
**Now Accepting Referrals** Choosing to begin the counseling process is a powerful first step towards creating the life you know you can have. You need a counselor who will join with you, work with you where you are at, and help you to identify YOUR goals. Everyone's path is unique and there is no “one right way” to healing. Whether you are looking for counseling do address anxiety, life change...
