My Approach and Training
My style is engaged, pragmatic, interactive and direct. I’ll help you make sense of your internal life and give your story a deeper context for understanding in a safe, nonjudgmental environment. We will focus on current stressors, as well as pay attention to how the past informs the present. We may identify unhelpful patterns, touch into places you (or your relationship) feel stuck, process painful feelings, or attune to physical symptoms. I focus on strengths, adaptive capacities and your inner wisdom. I will help you feel better emotionally and physically, with the goal of enhanced connection, resilience, and productivity. I hope to provide an embodied experience integrating talk therapy with an expanded mind-body awareness.
I am trained in psychoanalysis, somatic experiencing® therapy, and emotionally focused therapy. My original training as a clinical social worker is steeped in family systems theory. I also utilize cognitive-behavioral techniques and stay informed about advances in neuroscience, which have fascinating implications for how we change, grow and heal. I synthesize my knowledge and clinical experience and offer a multi-dimensional approach to treatment depending on the presenting issues of the individual or couple.
What does all that mean?
Psychoanalytic psychotherapy
Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy helps to frame my understanding of the whole person(s), including finding meaning from the past.
Somatic experiencing therapy
Somatic experiencing® (SE) therapy is a way of working that focuses on the autonomic nervous system and understanding the body’s threat response system.
Emotionally focused therapy
Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) is based in the science of attachment research and our innate wiring for social-relational bonding.
Family systems theory
Family systems theory looks at the individual as an interlocking part of the whole family system and addresses patterns of interaction.
Cognitive-behavior therapy
Cognitive-behavior therapy focuses on identifying and changing destructive or disturbing thought patterns that have a negative influence on behavior and emotion.
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the study of the structure and function of the human brain and nervous system. Biology and psychology are studied together.
Nancy M. Bottger, LCSW, SEP
(203) 788-6742
nancybottger@optonline.net
Fairfield, CT