Dr. Mike Denn

I use an integrative approach to therapy. An important component is the therapeutic relationship. The focus of therapy is on the client’s story, what he or she sees as their problem and what they would like to change. I attempt to free myself from my biases and understand the client’s culture and meaning. I believe healing begins to happen when a client finally feels like someone else really understands them.

The techniques I employ depend on the problem. A lot of our problems involve pain. Pain in the past is expressed as depression, pain in the future as anxiety, and pain in the present as fear. One of our big problems appears to be that we avoid feeling our pain and moving through it but instead avoid it. I see my job as helping my clients learn to approach their pain and move through it thus developing a new way to be in the world. It is imperative to look at our thoughts that are producing our feelings and behaviors. This one behavior is life changing. 

I would describe my approach as directive. I use Rational Living Therapy techniques that are empirically validated, and are based on a cognitive behavioral approach, a rational emotive approach and other techniques. The focus is on the here and now and on the clients thinking, feeling and behaviors.

I feel that it is essential to help you learn how to develop measurable goals to work on to solve the problems you bring to therapy. Then to help you develop the skills to solve these problems and future problems once you leave therapy. My desire is that you go away from therapy with reduced pain, past, present and future along with the skills and desire to stop avoiding the issues of your live, confident that you have the ability to resolve your problems on your own.

Rational Living Therapy

Rational Living Therapy is a shorter-term form of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy that aims to change people’s thinking thus producing long-term results. Helping people learn how to examine their thoughts provides them with the tools they need to help themselves in the future. This intern leads to feeling better and being happier. Rational Living Therapy (RLT) combines Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, Rational Behavior Therapy, and Cognitive Therapy along with other techniques and philosophical aspects.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy is a directive therapy that focuses on dysfunctional emotions and behaviors. It uses systematic procedures to examine maladaptive behaviors. It focuses on peoples’ problems and helps them chose new strategies to address their problems.

Rational Emotive Therapy

Rational emotive therapy is a form of cognitive therapy that focuses on how people shape their reality through their language, evaluative beliefs, meanings and philosophies about the world, themselves and others. It focuses on incorrect beliefs and evaluation of events which leads to false conclusions and maladaptive behaviors regarding the events.