Find a Therapist in Prunedale, California.

Psychotherapy or counseling is an essential tool to provide individuals, couples or family groups who may have been in conflict, discord or even crisis to a new level of resolve and ideally into a functioning working relationship with restored possibilities of effective communications and an integration of new responses and new relationship insight and responsibility. Counseling an psychotherapy are meant to help a person see themselves and the world around them in a manner which can provide them with valuable insights, awareness and useful life tools which will lead to effective and successful behaviors, personal contentment and greater possible happiness.

I work with an entire person--the mind, emotions, body, spirit, relationships. I offer an alternative approach to traditional psychotherapy because sometimes we are stuck beyond our thoughts. I believe we are often stuck beyond how we think about something, but by how our body holds and remembers the experiences. After all, we feel the anxiety in our chest, shoulders or stomach. When we are depressed, we struggle to move, sleep, concentrate etc. I work to remove the block from wherever it is stuck. My clients come to me after years of ineffective therapy. They are looking for more than talking about their struggles or identifying how they think about them in favor of a change in living.

Because I work with clients regarding a variety of issues; my first goal in therapy is to discuss what is bringing you into treatment and what you hope to gain from your time with a therapist. Together, we will develop a plan for how to work on the issue you are seeking to address. My training includes therapies such as : DBT, CBT, EMDR, and compassion focused therapy to name a few. I believe in getting to the root of the issue and exploring what therapeutic intervention would be the best fit to meet your needs. It is possible to experience a positive change when going to therapy.

You are the most important person in the room when you come to counseling. It is a place for you to discover the deep-down you--your thoughts, your feelings, your deep-down fears and concerns. It's a place to explore your core beliefs and to put them up to the mirror to find out if those beliefs are valid or need to be rewritten into something more realistic for you. As a result, you can develop better relationships and communication skills. You will learn how to live a more effective life versus life just happening to you. You have a choice. Do you want to manage and orchestrate your life to become the person you always dreamed of becoming or have old feelings and fears dragging you down?

The process of therapy is and should be tailored to each individual's life experience. Research shows that clients in therapy, who seek assistance to deal with a whole range of issues, challenges, thoughts, and emotions, can experience a positive benefit. In our collaborative work, we will complete a comprehensive biopsychosocial assessment, where we look at many life factors that may be contributing to those challenges for which therapy is being considered. After an assessment, we will have a clearer idea of core values, possible goals and many ideas on designing a flexible plan that is easy to understand and use to bring about the transformation desired.

By participating in therapy with me you agree to commit to at least five sessions. Immediately I ask for goalsetting. At the very basic level I'll request that you compare a behavior or condition that currently exists and where do you want it. For example if you have insomnia five days a week, then let's get it down to 3 times per week. Methodology for this is through homework. Homework includes activity tracking and writing down your beliefs. During our visits we will talk about what you wrote. If you don't bring in the homework we'll talk about that too. I am very action oriented and directive. When you agree to do a suggested experimental intervention, you'll always learn something!

Donald Dufford,Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist is an experienced Psychotherapist with over 25 years as a mental health provider. He honors each individual's unique strengths and capabilities and offers a safe encouraging environment for change and personal growth. Dr Dufford can help you identify and heal underlying emotional patterns as well as make positive changes in the present. He integrates various psychotherpeutic modalities where appropriate including Talk Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, Hypnotherapy, EMDR, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Life Coaching. Call now for a free 10 minute phone consultation.

I believe that we all are intrincly healthy and that we are able to overcome the most severe painful experiences if we allow ourselves to engage in the process of working through the obstacles that have kept us from being fully our selves. I am honored to facilitate and guide the steps to embark on the journey to a healthier and fuller life. I utilize sensorimotor psychotherapy, IFS and EMDR to help with deeper trauma that can not be healed through traditional talk therapy.

My general approach to psychotherapy is by the use of EMDR therapy, of which I am a Certified EMDR Therapist through EMDRIA, Inc. This therapy is excellent with trauma and anxiety disorders, nightmares, flashbacks, panic, and other disturbances that continue on for years. Spiritual issues are a frequent topic that my clients want to discuss - the guide for these issues is the Bible. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is about how people think, how people feel, and how people behave. Generally speaking, faulty thinking patterns will lead to bad moods and bad behavior. CBT addresses these issues and can be used in conjunction with EMDR therapy as well. I favor these three types of therapy