Patricia Bartley, LCMHC, CCMHC, NCC

I help my clients by listening compassionately so I can better understand them. Serving as a collaborative partner and emotion processor, I aid my clients in navigating complex feelings, daily struggles, transitions, and crises. Discovering and trusting one’s inner wisdom and resources is life changing! This allows love and acceptance to even those parts that inhibit one’s ability to live happily. My work with children and adults is client-centered. I offer unconditional positive regard, and am with you and only you during sessions. Though I might challenge your thoughts or behavior, I treat you as a capable, whole person who desires to make meaningful changes. Change is not easy, but a small shift in thinking and behavior is a good start and sustainable! Education plays a key role in therapy, since knowing what's going on with yourself is important! I may make recommendations for self-education, and hope you are open to new knowledge and insight. In my work with couples, I practice EFT ((Emotionally Focused Therapy) which is based upon the work of Sue Johnson and her extension of Attachment Theory to adult intimate relationships. We essentially we are "hard wired for safe and secure connection." In therapy, partners experience their "stuck" places and the negative cycle of communication and engagement. They learn to reconnect emotionally at a deeper level and begin to share softer emotions and vulnerability. The positive consequence is restoration of a safe and secure bond. From this point, everything opens up and issues can be discussed without distress. Put simply, therapy is a process of intention and connection. We’ll explore your intentions, as well as what you can do to support them and bring them to fruition. This is a lifelong journey and leading an engaged, challenging life can be scary! Change and growth always happens at our edges. I advocate mindfulness, as well as acceptance and commitment-based approaches, including cognitive-behavioral therapy. I like to focus on the here and now. I am keenly aware of the role self-awareness and self-compassion play in the process, so I treat you with a spirit of non-judgment. In so doing, I hope to empower you to begin therapy with an open awareness of your body, mind, and spirit. I draw much from existentialism and the process of making meaning in life.