Natalie Mickola (she/her/hers)

Relational 

Relational Cultural Therapy (RTC) uses a feminist, multicultural lens to focus on the growth that comes from connection. I highly value RTC's emphasis on building a strong therapeutic relationship to help support your deeper growth. This theory also notes the importance of identifying the overlaps in peoples identities and how this influences the experiences they have in their lives. The goal is empowering people against systemic oppression and building relationships based on authenticity.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

The heart of ACT is focused on accepting what you can't control and committing to what is important to you. I have used many components of ACT with clients, but my favorite is exploring someone's values and how life feels when they do/don't honor those values. While it can feel like a simple concept, this can often be key in creating a life that feels more authentic and fulfilling.

Cognitive Behavioral (CBT)

I have used CBT for many years while supporting clients with eating disorders, mood dysregulation, and trauma. I appreciate the structure CBT offers in addressing the relationship between our thoughts, feelings, and actions. When you boil things down to the basics like this, it can help increase self-awareness in a way that serves the deeper work in therapy too. There is a specific form of CBT I use to address trauma called Cognitive Processing Therapy. If you have questions about it, just ask!

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

DBT is often used to build skills in therapy, such as self-acceptance, tolerating and regulating distressing emotions, communicating your needs, and changing harmful behaviors. Another part of DBT is shifting how we perceive what is going on in our lives in new ways that may shift our emotional experience. I often utilize parts of DBT when supporting clients with emotional regulation or replacing maladaptive behaviors.

Motivational Interviewing

Motivational interviewing is a modality often used to help people build motivation towards change. It is a person-centered, evidence-based approach that helps you reflect on your life and behaviors in a way that is especially helpful when you're feeling ambivalent or resistant to change. My use of motivational interviewing techniques often depends on how "stuck" or unmotivated a client is feeling in therapy.

Eating Disorder

Eating disorders are never one-size-fits-all. I've worked with hundreds of clients with eating disorders and disordered eating who have proven this time and again. The way I support clients in addressing their eating disorders in therapy really depends on what their goals are, how the ED is impacting their life, and the underlying reasons beneath the behaviors.

Body Image Issues

Anyone can have body image issues. We are taught so many different things, even from a young age, about what bodies "should" look like and how we "should" be treating our bodies. Even the trends online change so fast it's hard to keep up. If you're feeling shame, guilt, or insecurity related to your appearance, this is absolutely something we can explore in therapy.

PTSD

I've worked with clients who have experienced a wide variety of trauma. One of the types of therapy I use to address trauma includes Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), which aims to decrease symptoms of posttraumatic stress through skill building and emotional exposure. There are many ways to work on trauma in therapy, so we can explore what approach would work best for you.

Anxiety

For anyone who saw the movie Inside Out 2 and experiences anxiety, I hope you felt some representation. Like that little character, I see anxiety as this something that is trying to protect you, but can also get out-of-control without the right tools. Whether your anxiety is something you feel in your body, related to [excessive] general worries, or showing up in a more specific area of your life, we can explore it in therapy.

Depression

Similar to how I described eating disorders, I also don't see depression in one stereotypical way. Some people might at home bed rotting, while others are at out with a smile on their face and feel deeply low on the inside. Either way, symptoms of depression make basic aspects of our lives harder and can make it difficult to see any hope for change. If you're open to it, I'd love to explore motivation for change and how to build a life that feels better for you.