Jennifer Bayer, PhD

Thus, it is exceptionally important that you consider what you truly want to happen in therapy sessions, outside of therapy sessions, and what changes you are seeking in your life when therapy is done. 

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I hope you will reflect on the following questions. You might not be sure of your answers, and that is okay! There is no right or wrong, and your answers might shift over time.  

• What do I want to do in session with my therapist? 

  • How much of the time do I want to be talking about daily events?​

  • Do I want to figure out where certain thoughts, emotions, or behaviors come from?

  • How much of the time do I expect the therapist to be "intervening" and what do those interventions look like? For example, you might want to speak most of the session and have the therapist intervene only a few times with some helpful reflections, you might want to do little talking and have the therapist run the show, or somewhere in-between. You might want the therapist to reflect back what you say to help make sense of events or interactions; teach skills; advise how to move forward; teach relaxation; lead seated or moving mindfulness exercises; provide education; do somatic interventions; etc.

  • Do I want each session to start fresh, depending on what is going on during the week? Or do I want each session to build on the last, even if it means that we do not discuss any events from my week?

• What am I willing to do outside of session?

  • Do I want to leave therapy and not think about it until the following week or do I want to do homework assignments between sessions? If I am interested in doing homework, how much feels appropriate? 5 minutes per day? 45 minutes per day?​

• What do I hope will be different in my life after therapy is done?​​

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Therapists lead sessions differently because we believe different things about what best leads to change in clients' lives. The work is most effective when the therapist and client agree on what will create lasting change. My hope is that we will work together for a course of treatment (8-26 sessions) and that in that time, you will experience a shift that leads to lasting change in your life without the need for ongoing psychotherapy for that issue. 

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I believe that change happens when we become more flexible in how we respond to our thoughts, memories, and feelings. Our behaviors stop being about reacting to thoughts and emotions. Instead, we focus what we do on making our lives more vital and meaningful while still experiencing anxiety, sadness, anger, self-critical thoughts, etc. Instead of getting entangled in thoughts and feelings by disputing, trying to change, or investigating where they come from, together we will notice what you do when unwanted thoughts, feelings, or sensations show up and discover other ways to respond in service of what matters most to you.  

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In sessions with me, we might spend a short time talking about daily events, but the vast majority of session will be spent building on previous sessions towards specific behavioral goals. We will identify one target very early in our treatment (such as being more productive, changing a health behavior, changing the way you cope with physical pain, improving your mood, getting better sleep, or one of many others). In our first conversations, I will ask you, "What will you be doing differently at the end of our therapy that will indicate that we were successful?" Then, each session, we are working together to get you closer to the vision you have. We focus on doing - what is keeping you stuck in not-so-helpful patterns and what you will be doing once those patterns no longer hold you back. We might spend some time talking about past events, but therapy with me tends to be present- and future-oriented. 

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The interventions that I use include:

• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), usually using a workbook, such as the Mindfulness and Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety, to guide our treatment,

• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) skills practice (this targets Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance, and Interpersonal Effectiveness),

• Exposure therapy, which involves homework that includes experiencing things you might be actively avoiding internally and in the real world,

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I)

• seated and moving mindfulness practices,

• self-compassion training, 

• and others or a combination of these.

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My goal is that you can live into your own definition of a vital and meaningful life, even when challenging thoughts, emotions, and behavioral urges come up. 

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Some indicators that I might *not* be the right therapist for you:

• While it can be interesting to focus treatment on gaining insight about where particular habits or thoughts come from, I do not focus on this in my work. If you are interested in gaining insight about where patterns come from, another therapist would likely be a better fit.

• While I wholeheartedly believe that there is a strong mind-body connection that underlies health, I am not a somatic experiencing therapist. If this is something of interest to you, I strongly encourage that you find a therapist with this specific training. 

• Many times, people come to therapy simply to have a place to talk things through as a way to reduce stress. I support stress reduction, but via behavioral change outside of session so that you do not need psychotherapy indefinitely. 

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If what I offer is in-line with what you are seeking, wonderful! Let's set up a phone consultation (see the Contact Me page).

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If this description is not what you are looking for, wonderful! You have taken a step closer to determining what you are looking for and saved yourself the time and emotional cost of starting therapy with someone who is less likely than someone else to provide what you need to get into a better place. Keep looking! I am certain the provider you are looking for is out there! Psychology Today can be a very helpful site to find therapists and learn a bit about their style. Best of luck in your search!