How We Help
Individual Therapy
The therapists at Shulman Psychology Group take a holistic and individualized approach to working with each client. Our work goes beyond symptom management, or giving generic advice. We are trained in a wide array of modalities, including Internal Family Systems (IFS), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), somatic therapy, CBT, EMDR, and Relational Therapy. You will have the opportunity to be truly understood, to be accepted without judgement, and to build and practice new skills in how you relate to yourself and others.
Whether you are coming to work through childhood attachment wounds, heal from depression, get relief from anxiety, or get unstuck from patterns that no longer serve you, we can help. Through individual therapy you will be able to feel less alone, uncover your true self, build resilience through challenges, and heal what ails you. You should expect nothing less.
Internal Family Systems (IFS) Therapy
IFS is an embodied, experiential, and relational therapy modality. It is not based in finding what is “wrong” with a person (psychopathology), but rather in removing obstacles to the inherent healing process which can unfold when safety and relational needs are well tended to.
Under the broad umbrella of “trauma therapies” are what I (Dr. Shulman) call imagination based reprocessing therapies.
These therapies heal through a felt corrective experience, without having to live the correction in real time. Internal Family Systems and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing or EMDR are two such imagination-based reprocessing therapies. Done well, each of these modalities help people connect to their inner wisdom and capacity for alignment through building inner trust and then reprocessing difficult material in the context of that new internal relationship. They are remarkably effective at helping people release harmful or limiting beliefs that were learned through intense emotional experience.
By bringing a memory, a problem, or an inner conflict into focus in the here and now, reprocessing therapies like IFS facilitate creating new associations that are adaptive, rooted in safety, and flexible. One could argue that when psychodynamic therapies, CBT, and other modalities work well, they may be activating this same mechanism.
At Shulman Psychology Group, we have found Internal Family Systems to be a reliable and coherent pathway to new learning that is less likely to veer into “overthinking” or “analysis paralysis” than more cognitive or thinking-based methods.
Internal Family Systems provides an adaptable yet direct framework that consistently helps people access their memories and conflicts in the therapy office while simultaneously staying rooted in a calm and emotionally nurturing state, without retreating into intellect. Another benefit of IFS is how it helps the person stay rooted in a more curious, less constrained mindset (called Self-energy in IFS), using symbols that the person develops from their own imagination.
IFS holds a fundamentally non-pathologizing stance which asserts patients already have within them what is needed for healing. Once safety is established and constraints are removed, healing can happen without a person needing first to build or become something different.
Our therapy team at Shulman Psychology Group integrates IFS with various other forms of clinical training, years of clinical experience, and careful attention to the therapeutic relationship, in order to arrive at what is needed for each client we care for. We look forward to exploring this process together with you.
Teen & Parent Therapy
Adolescence is a time of challenges as well as incredible opportunities for growth and building competence. If your teen is struggling with mood, behavior, difficulties in relationships, avoidance of responsibilities, or any other mental health problems, getting help from a specialist can prevent future crises and support healthy development into adulthood. Mental, emotional and behavioral challenges in teens are best addressed directly through a combination of skill building, psychoeducation, relationship building, and problem solving.
Adolescent therapy can include talking, drawing, and other activities to help the teen express their thoughts and feelings. They will learn new ways of understanding, and grow their capacity for relating to experiences without avoidance. Adolescent therapy should go beyond symptom management to promote long-term psychological flexibility and strength.
At Shulman Psychology Group, we know that parents are an integral part of every teen’s life, and we aim to support each teen’s relationship with their parents and families. In addition to supporting teens in their own individual therapies, we also offer parent-focused therapy where parents can consult about their child’s behavior and feelings. In parent-focused therapy, we help parents understand their particular child’s needs and the ways that these might interact with the parents’ own history or psychology. We guide parents collaboratively and non-judgmentally toward being the kind of parent they want to be for their child, and toward finding solutions that are in line with their values and are effective for their particular family.
Group Therapy
Group therapy can be transformative. In a safe space, surrounded by understanding peers, group members can share experiences and get support while learning from others in a similar phase of life who face related challenges.
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), group therapy offers many benefits, including creating a robust support network that can extend beyond the regular meeting times. Talking and listening to peers can help group members put their problems into perspective and reduce shame, stigma, and isolation. Research shows that group therapy can be as effective and is more efficient than individual traditional therapy.