Robert's Approach

Instead of subscribing to the medical model of psychotherapy, which sometimes places undue emphasis on illness, Robert subscribes to what he prefers to call the spiritual model. From this perspective, psychotherapy is seen as a spiritual process, and the psychotherapist, who walks with a person, helps him or her to hear the voice of the Light Within, that is, the voice of his or her soul, which can reduce and eventually eliminate suffering.

Not surprisingly, Robert does not view the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V) as on par with the Bible. Far too often, it is used to pathologize people, to reduce them to a diagnosis. Terminology can be wrong, and the near sacrosanct medical terminology of the DSM-V is no exception. The DSM-I (1952), for example, regarded homosexuality as a "sexual deviation"--listing it under "Sociopathic Personality Disturbance"--but twenty-one years later the American Psychiatric Association, which publishes the DSM, completely removed this designation. In the blink of an eye, the "sick" were made well.

To help you get from where you are to where you want to go, Robert employs techiques and tools from Addiction Recovery Therapy (Tweleve-Step Recovery), Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems Therapy, Spiritual Self-Schema Therapy, and Transpersonal Psychology.

Addiction Recovery Therapy (Twelve-Step Recovery)
Many people who participate in Twelve-Step programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Crystal Meth Anonymous (CMA), or Sexual Compulsives Anonymous (SCA), were out of control before they sought help. They described themselves as "a car without brakes." Repairing the brakes, being able to say no once more, is always a process, which can be frustrating, painful, and slow. Robert is a non-judgmental psychotherapist who will walk with you, help you to take the necessary steps toward recovery. Twelve-Step programs are hugely successful at helping people stop themselves from engaging in self-destructive behavior. They are less successful, however, at helping people to integrate the self that was using and kept using. Weekly individual psychotherapy can compliment your participation in a Twelve-Step program and help you to achieve integration in your life.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
"Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny."

You must become aware of your thoughts if you want to evolve. Becoming aware of what you think is the first step toward changing how you think. If you keep regretting what you say or do to people, you may want to explore what you think about them in the first place. Similarly, if you are anxious in the face of a specific situation, changing the way you think about it can lessen or even eliminate that anxiety. As your psychotherapist, Robert will teach you various CBT techniques to help you gain mastery over your thoughts, especially the unwanted ones.

Internal Family Systems Therapy
Internal Family Systems Therapy. The Self (Pure Spirit) dwells at the core of a person's being and expresses Itself through sub-personalities: exiles, firefighters, and managers. Regardless of their role, these sub-personalities work to enhance the whole, that is, the person, but do so in often maladaptive ways. Exiles experience fear, pain, shame, and / or trauma and as a result retreat to the margins; firefighters engage in behaviors--often compulsive in nature--to block emotions, particularly those arising from the attempted return of exiles; and managers shape a person's relationship to his or her environment. Proponents of this approach, developed by Richard C. Schwartz, endeavor to help a person realize that he or she is the Self, to open a channel of communication between the Self and the sub-personalities, to bring healing to these personalities, and to integrate them in service to the Self.

Spiritual Self-Schema Therapy
The way in which you take in and organize information about a situation is known as a schema, and every schema triggers a series of behaviors known as a script, which a particular self follows automatically. Some scripts serve you but others don't. For example, an unhealthy script, if followed, may lead to escape through substance abuse. The goal of Spiritual Self-Schema Therapy is to help you strengthen your spiritual self to create healthier scripts. As a psychotherapist, with expertise in the area of spirituality, Robert can help you develop a daily spiritual practice to accomplish this goal, which can change your life.

Transpersonal Psychology
In transpersonal psychology, the terms spiritual being and soul are often used interchangeably. Understanding your spiritual experiences, your soul experiences, including dreams, memories of past lives, and mystical encounters, is key to helping you understand your most evolved self, your life, and your destiny. In the words of spiritual psychologist Mariana Caplan, "Transpersonal psychologists attempt to integrate timeless wisdom with modern Western psychology and translate spiritual principles into scientifically grounded, contemporary language."