Psychotherapy with Diane.
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Many of my clients find themselves in dissatisfying relationship patterns, or are longing for a life partner. Others are stuck in unfulfilling work or relationships, or other undesirable life circumstances.

These are real-life challenges my clients and I have solved together. In addition, I’ve helped people overcome procrastination, low motivation, crippling anxiety, depression, emotion-driven eating, and low self-confidence.

I am trained in evidenced-based (scientifically tested) psychotherapy techniques (ISTDP, Control-Mastery, and P.A.C.T.) that help clients lead satisfying, productive lives, breaking through internal barriers and making changes faster than with most traditional therapy.
ISTDP:
​For Real Change.

Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) is designed to help people change in a shorter period of time than with standard therapies.

ISTDP is not a therapy that is “done to you”; you and your therapist do it together. Rather than simply showing up and saying what comes to mind, you will be asked to actively join me in:
  1. identifying the particular problem you want my help with;
  2. establishing your most cherished goals;
  3. observing yourself closely and accurately;
  4. practicing how to regulate your anxiety;
  5. learning which habits of mind and behaviors you automatically use that keep you from accomplishing your goals; and
  6. deactivating those blocks so you can achieve what you want.

This process leads to a more caring, invigorated relationship with yourself and with others. The ISTDP approach accomplishes this through a unique kind of listening and interaction where the therapist pays very close attention to everything you say and do moment-by-moment in the session.
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Control-Mastery:
​Be Your True Self.

Have your ever found yourself feeling pressure to change what you say or do? Before you know it, you don’t even recognize yourself, or you feel badly because you have caved instead of being honest with yourself and others. This very common dilemma can lead you to avoid social encounters and to have a more-limited life.

We all want to be our natural selves, no matter where we are, or with whom.

The Control-Mastery Approach assumes that we all are forced to give up a certain amount of healthy functioning while growing up in order to adapt to our environments and preserve our important relationships. As a result, we can develop unproductive patterns of relating to ourselves and to others, losing sight of our own goals and winding up unhappy.

The Control Mastery Approach helps us regain control.
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P.A.C.T.: Helping Couples Move Toward Secure Functioning.

We often find ourselves in relationships that don’t work: We get keep recycling unproductive conversations; we keep what’s important inside because we don’t feel safe to be genuine with our partner; we are afraid we will get hurt, rejected, or even left; or we are prone to create distance in our primary relationship and get our needs met elsewhere.

The result? A relationship that lacks vitality, feels flat, and is unsatisfying to both partners. Even if we leave that relationship, we invariably create some version of that same pattern in the next one.

What can be done about this?

P.A.C.T. — a Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy® — is a cutting-edge method that integrates the latest neuroscience on emotion regulation, principles of forming a secure attachment, and developmental neurobiology. We help you learn each other’s “owner’s manual” to better soothe each other, turn to one another for comfort in times of distress, handle disagreements more productively, learn or relearn how to enjoy each other’s company, and, ultimately, create a more fulfilling, secure relationship.
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“  [One of Diane’s therapy super­visors:]

I met Diane in 2011 when we were both members of a train­ing group led by Patricia Coughlin for ther­apists inter­ested in learning how to super­vise and teach ISTDP. I have seen her grow to become an ex­traor­di­nar­y ISTDP ther­apist and teacher. Her clin­ical work has shown me what a caring and ded­icat­ed ther­apist she is. She engages her clients in a deeply mean­ing­ful col­lab­ora­tion to get to the core of their dif­ficul­ties in the most time-­effic­ient manner pos­sible. She is con­sis­tently looking for ways to do the best she can for her clients, includ­ing seek­ing ongoing train­ing and clin­ical con­sul­ta­tion. Diane is a person of extreme integrity, and is committed to honest com­mu­nica­tion, even when the subject matter is dif­ficult. You always know where you stand with her. I would not hes­itate to recom­mend her to any client seek­ing effec­tive psycho­therapy and to any ther­apist inter­ested in learning ISTDP.

— David M. Wolff, MD (psychiatry)

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