Addressing each person’s specific situation may require a combination of therapeutic modalities and techniques. Dr. Morris uses relational psychotherapy as the basis of her approach; she believes that strong, fulfilling relationships with others can help people maintain well-being. Increasing a person’s ability to build these relationships more effectively begins with the therapeutic alliance created with Dr. Morris in the safe and confidential space of therapy sessions. A primary goal that Dr. Morris seeks to achieve with each patient is helping them to better organize their lives and maintain links with the important people who can support them in their life outside of therapy. Other patients seek to revisit memories of trauma or explore unacceptable aspects of themselves that are too threatening to confront alone. Dr. Morris helps patients access and assemble bits and pieces of their experiences and histories and fosters each person to develop insight into how this history informs their current struggles. Along the way, some patients make connections that lead them to greater understanding of the origins of their current anxiety states. Some even successfully uncover how anxiety states became cemented in place as a result of relationships earlier in their life. This allows them to better identify triggers of anxiety in their current relationships.
Dr. Morris views each patient as an individual with their own unique needs and ways of responding. The welfare and rights of patients always share the spotlight with treatment approaches. In Dr. Morris’ practice, a patient’s values and life choices are front and center and treatment always proceeds from a point of collaboration. The path followed in your work with Dr. Morris will be guided by you as much as by her training and expertise.
In addition to relational psychotherapy, Dr. Morris finds it helpful to incorporate other therapeutic modalities into treatment, depending on the needs of each patient. Some of these come from her training in EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing), other trauma-informed approaches, such as Internal Family Systems, and additional work in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Dr. Morris also encourages the practice of Mindfulness. Mindfulness is the psychological process of bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment, which can be developed through the practice of meditation and other training and has been shown to be a key element in stress reduction and overall happiness. Therapy sessions can include guided grounding exercises for patients to use outside of the office in their daily lives.
