Gregory Kaplan Therapy

Adult clients can experience strife or strain in their family life: spouses might disagree about raising kids, siblings about caring for elderly parents; cultural, religious, sexual and other values may come into conflict; relations dispute finances; rules and roles can become unworkable; differing communication styles can become hostile; low-contact or no-contact between family members (siblings, or grandparents and their adult children) requires establishment, maintenance, or reconsideration and reconciliation. Familial discord can be addressed, even relieved, by sorting out different beliefs and values; assessing perceived injuries, like abuse and neglect, and opening paths to heal them, or not; defending well-defined boundaries. Whether defining distance or reaching for connection, therapy offers a place to have truly our own perceptions, needs, and wishes. You are a phone consultation or initial appointment away, with no commitments, from some relief and guidance. I use Object Relations psychoanalysis and Internal Family Systems so that we can build a therapeutic relationship to explore the dynamics that play out in relationships among family members, and often quite painfully with parents and siblings. Exposing the hidden dynamics of relationships often provide us with the signals of how to proceed in our relations with others, and ourselves. In addition to individual and family therapy, I also run process groups on family issues and on music in therapy. I also work with groups in family and music intensives. In every case, I will approach our therapeutic work with curiosity, empathy, knowledge, and active listening for your own distinctive, personal voice. Before becoming a psychotherapist, while residing in several US cities and three other countries, I had careers in the fields of academia and publishing. I earned a PhD in comparative religious studies from Stanford University due to my passion for understanding human identity ("who am I?"), the variety of human experience ("what are these others saying and doing?"), and the whole of reality which envelopes human being ("how does it all hang together, and fall apart?"). Writing and teaching about religions from a philosophical view has helped me to understand how people interpret the meaning of their lives with the aid of rituals, symbols, dreams, images, sounds, and language — forms of expression that bring forth parts of ourselves and facets of our relationships which would otherwise elude, or get distorted by, conscious awareness. I then honed my facilitating skills as a book editor and publisher. I received an MA in mental health counseling from a psychodynamically focused program at Northwestern University (The Family Institute). My psychoanalytically-oriented approach is abetted by expert consultation and continuing education. I have worked well with students, professors, creators (writers, musicians), professionals, entrepreneurs, LGBTQIA+ community members, and parents. I am a certified clinical trauma care provider, including trained use of EMDR; I have volunteered time with clients through the Returning Veterans Project; and I have taught courses in the clinical mental health program at Lewis & Clark University. Patients with Aetna and Regence/BlueShield insurance please book through HEADWAY.