Teri Virostko, MA, LMFT

There are many reasons people seek support and understanding. We all go through difficult times in life. Our challenges present us with opportunities for growth and healing. Whatever your reason, it takes courage to reach out for support. You may be wondering how therapy can help you. I work with people who want support to:

• Treat anxiety
• Relieve emotional pain
• Improve a relationship
• Work through a challenging situation
• Get support with parenting
• Achieve a more satisfying relationship through couples counseling
• Relieve anxiety or emotional pain
• Recover from grief and loss
• Manage stress
• Navigate a life transition
• Heal from trauma and PTSD
• Strengthen self-esteem and improve confidence
• Strengthen inner resources
• Relieve panic attacks and reduce fears
• Lift depression
• Enjoy life

I am an integrative psychotherapist providing individual and couples therapy. Integrative psychotherapy honors and works with the connection between body, mind, and spirit. This kind of therapy is an opportunity to explore and reflect on your lived experiences with a trusted therapist who can create the space needed for you to feel safe enough to explore the feelings, thoughts, and behaviors you would like to better understand and to connect more authentically with yourself and others. In my work I draw from a variety of approaches such as EMDR, Emotionally Focused Therapy, EFT, inner parts work, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

What is psychotherapy and how does it work?

As people, we have good reasons for why we do things and for how we relate to others. Our patterns of behavior and relationships are shaped by conscious and unconscious influences and by our unique lived experiences, our history and our present concerns. Psychotherapy is an opportunity to explore our experience and the underlying beliefs that shape the patterns of our behavior and our relationships. It is a process to help discover and find meaning in our experiences and to explore the deeper layers of ourself.

Psychotherapy is an invitation to discover more about ourselves and to accept, understand, and love ourselves more fully. Most of us have had to repress aspects of ourselves in order to fit in and feel accepted. Psychotherapy allows us to deepen our awareness of our experience so that we can find the parts of ourself that have been hiding, or feel unintegrated or that point to our unfinished business. As we do this work we find more meaning in our life and we are able to connect more authentically with others and with ourself.

Benefits of therapy

• Improved relationships
• Find new ways to cope with anxiety, stress and anger
• Recover and heal from trauma, PTSD, grief and loss
• Reduce negative beliefs and self-criticism
• Greater self-acceptance
• Be at ease with who you are
• Improved confidence
• Improved relationships
• Break free of intergenerational trauma
• Find new ways to cope with anxiety, stress and anger
• Recover and heal from trauma, grief and loss
• Reduce negative beliefs and self-criticism
• More connection to your aliveness
• Find resolution to a particular issue
• Find greater meaning in your life
• Understand and appreciate your strengths
• Create the life you want

Therapy services

Couples and Families

Relationships are vital to our well-being. Family therapy and couples therapy is an opportunity to learn about yourself, heal old emotional wounds, and to strengthen your relationship by developing new ways to communicate, listen to one another and feel more connected. I have training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) an approach that helps couples recognize and shift away from repeating negative patterns in their relationships and work on ways to improve connection and trust, and to develop a sense of emotional safety together.

Individuals

Individual therapy is a chance to discover meaning in your unique experiences while becoming more at ease with yourself. It is a process to heal and recover from past wounds, recognize and change limiting patterns or beliefs and to understand and accept yourself while working with someone who supports you to determine how you want to live your life. I have experience working with people of all ages in the treatment of anxiety, depression, PTSD, childhood trauma, and in navigating life transitions and challenging life circumstances.

EMDR

EMDR is an evidenced based and structured therapy treatment using Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to help people recover from trauma, PTSD and other distressing life experiences. EMDR is helpful in treating a range of things such as anxiety, panic attacks, chronic pain, PTSD, and complex-childhood trauma symptoms. I received my EMDR training parts I, and II, from Dr. Philip Manfield, an EMDRIA approved trainer. I have additional training in Attachment Focused EMDR from the Parnell Institute for Attachment-Focused EMDR.

Fees

Fees are discussed in the initial phone consultation before an initial session. I offer rates comparable to others in Santa Cruz. I offer a limited number of sliding scale spots for those in a place of need. Cash or check payments are accepted each session, and a monthly payment can be arranged.

How I work

My work as a psychotherapist is client-centered, compassionate and integrative. I work from a relational attachment framework while drawing from a range of treatment approaches such as trauma informed practices, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Internal Family Systems (IFS) and mindfulness based practices that build on each individual's inherent capacity for healing and wholeness. I provide a grounded and warm presence allowing clients to work through challenging life experiences with safety and support. I have experience working with adults, couples and families seeking support in dealing with relationship issues, anxiety, trauma symptoms, family conflicts, navigating life transitions, and managing stress.

Together we will collaborate to understand your goals for therapy and to tap into your innate wisdom and capacity to heal and to create the changes you would like to make. I do this by drawing on a variety of therapeutic approaches that allow you to understand your current and past relationships and your deepest values and needs. I will listen with you to look for patterns of relating that may be hard for you to see on your own. Together we will work to understand and find meaning in these patterns, exploring and bringing awareness to your feelings, thoughts and behaviors. At times this work may integrate specific skills and practices that help you build new ways to cope with stress, reduce anxiety symptoms, work through specific challenges, connect better with others, or manage moods. At times it may be deeper work that draws on mindfulness practices or inner parts approaches that quiet the mind and connect with the wisdom of the body and your wise inner-self. I may use dreams, or imagery to guide you inward to explore the parts of yourself that call for attention, feel shut off, or unintegrated. We may use EMDR, Flash, or EFT to heal from distressing life events. Together we will explore your unique experience, access your wisdom and build your resources so that you may see more options for living the life you want and becoming the person you are meant to be.

Where do I start with therapy?

If you are thinking about starting therapy, please feel free to call me. You can reach me at my confidential number 831.316.4714. I will call you back shortly.