Additional Information on Fae’s Theoretical Orientation
If you’re here, you probably weren’t satisfied with my answer about who I work with, so here’s some more information.
I use the best parts of a lot of theories to customize and provide the best care possible for each client. You don’t really NEED to know the ins and outs of the theories your therapist uses, but some people like to know and some people know how they heal, so here’s the information if you want it.
Psychology Today has a whole guide about Types of Therapy. Here are the entries for the types of therapy I use (in order from most to least used).
You might be saying, “That’s a lot of theories. How the hell does she do ALL that in one session?!” The answer is, very carefully. The longer answer is:
All of my theoretical knowledge and use is filtered through a Social Justice/Culturally sensitive lens/meta theory. That means I acknowledge the field of psychology was run by White dudes for a long time and so even the really good stuff sometimes needs to be adapted to fit people who are not white dudes from the last century (which is in fact, most people).
My adaptation includes knowledge about systems of power and oppression from many cultures (I don’t know everything about every culture, but I’m always learning). I also address, acknowledge, and examine the differences between myself and my clients.
Even if you and I share a lot of identities or seem really similar, I will never assume your experience of the world is anything like mine. It also means that I understand people have many identities (some visible and some not) and those identities intersect to create a unique experience for each person within their cultural and system context. Read more about intersectionality HERE.
The feminist part of my theoretical orientation just means that I believe that the counselor and client are coming together on an equal ground. I have some expertise but so do you! Feminist theory in counseling is about breaking down power differentials and working together as a team where I believe you have the power to change what you need to change.
Existential theory is my core theory. This basically means I am always guided by the principles that people have autonomy, choice, and responsibility for their lives. Existential theory isn’t just for people who have nothing better to do with their time, than to sit and wonder “What is the meaning of life?”.
Existential theories help guide all of us to important questions like “How am I going to move forward from this” and “What is the meaning of/What am I going to with MY life”. Existential theory has relatively few techniques associated with it so I supplement those ideas with ideas and techniques from other theories and meta theories.
I often use techniques from the following theories. Since every client is different, I use different amounts of these techniques with each client. It just depends on what they respond well to.
Solution Focused Brief Therapy - to help problem solve, create actionable plans and decrease symptom severity.
Narrative therapy - to address the stories we tell ourselves (or others have told us) and how those are helpful or not as we move through life
Psychodynamic theory - I believe the therapy space is a micro chasm of the real world so I might ask you about your emotional/cognitive experiences in the moment as well as share my experience of you in order to examine how similar dynamics may be playing out in your “real life”
Object Relations - Similar to psychodynamic theory, sometimes it’s helpful to think/talk about how you are relating to others and what relational patterns have you carried with you through life.
Internal Family Systems - Some clients (especially the artsy/creative types) really respond well to techniques related to this theory as it involves personifying different “parts” of yourself, talking to them, and understanding their roles/jobs. This metaphor is used to find how the “parts” can all work together.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy- CBT basically says that our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected and if we can tune into our patterns and our common thoughts and feelings, we can make conscious changes to those patterns, and the science backs them up. CBT has some great techniques that help people start to recognize their thoughts/feelings in a structured way.
Humanistic- In my opinion, this theory is similar to a metatheory. It basically says clients are individuals and have unique minds/situations and clinicians should recognize/respect that and tailor therapy to the client’s needs.
Dr. Fae
has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology. She lives abroad and offers online therapy & clinical supervision. In her individual therapy practice, she specializes in value alignment, existential questions, decision making, and general coping to increase overall life satisfaction. Her online self-study course Deepening & Developing Connections is always available.
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You can learn more about her in all these places.