Client Concerns

Dr. D’Avanzato is highly experienced in delivering Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy - PE (DBT-PE) for PTSD. She is additionally trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy for PTSD (CPT) and ACT-enhanced exposure therapy for PTSD.

Dr. D’Avanzato has nearly 15 years of experience helping individuals with mood disorders, including Major Depression, Bipolar Disorder, Seasonal Affective Disorder, and related concerns. She is skilled in both CBT and ACT approaches and has frequently worked with individuals with persistent or treatment-resistant mood concerns.

Dr. D’Avanzato is experienced in delivering specialized, evidence-based treatments for anxiety and obsessive-compulsive concerns. She provides traditional CBT approaches (Exposure Therapy, Exposure and Response Prevention) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for a broad range of concerns, including social anxiety, specific phobias, panic disorder and agoraphobia, generalized anxiety and worry, health anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorder and related concerns.

Life transitions, such as beginning college, changing jobs, becoming a parent, retirement, among many other life challenges, can bring significant stress and adjustment yet also potential for growth. Together we can work to hone your skills and learn new strategies to manage stress. With my support, you’ll clarify your values as you navigate these stressful periods to help you move towards a more vital and fulfilling life.

Many people experience difficulties with trust, effective communication, and conflict resolution, in relationships. We can work together to better understand patterns of behavior and communication that may interfere in your relationships. Individual therapy can assist to build new behavior patterns of healthy communication and conflict resolution, distress tolerance and emotion regulation, acceptance, and connectedness.

Among people with a history of trauma and PTSD, it’s not uncommon to experience persistent difficulties in relationships or to feel stuck in a pattern of recurrent unhealthy relationships. We can work together to clarify and move towards the ideal qualities you hope to see in your relationships. Individual therapy can also help to identify and break free from unhealthy or abusive relationship patterns by better understanding common ways that past trauma can affect relationships, building self-compassion and self-confidence, building mindfulness skills and an ability to notice and trust warning flags, and developing strategies for prevention, among many other skills.

Many people who have experienced trauma and significant life stressors struggle with anger. Anger is often a valid and natural response to such experiences, yet difficulties in coping effectively can worsen relationships and keep people stuck in PTSD. Dr. D’Avanzato will work with you in a non-judgmental environment to build skills for coping effectively with anger, including assertive communication, interpersonal effectiveness, emotion regulation and mindfulness skills. When anger accompanies trauma/PTSD, we will also work to support your recovery from trauma/PTSD. Many people find that as they recover from trauma, they find relief from anger.

Dr. D’Avanzato is trained in Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and DBT-PE for individuals with co-occurring PTSD and difficulties with emotion regulation. She frequently employs DBT principles and techniques in her work with individuals experiencing difficulties with intense and fluctuating emotions, difficulty regulating emotions, persistent relationship difficulties, impulsivity, and related concerns.