About Dr. Splaun

I completed my PhD in 2012 at The New School for Social Research in New York City.  At The New School, I received extensive training in both Psychodynamic and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).   Though I typically prefer Psychodynamic Psychotherapy because it provides an in-depth framework for getting to the heart of what is causing distress, I also value the concrete tools of CBT and my diverse training experiences allow me to integrate these modalities to tailor treatments to meet the needs of each of my clients.  While at The New School, my colleague Iris Reiner and I developed a play-based measure of child attachment, titled The Attachment-Focused Coding System (AFCS) for Story Stems.  I continue to engage in research using that measure and have conducted numerous trainings on using the AFCS for clinicians and researchers around the world.  Prior to my doctoral studies, I completed a two-year Master of Education degree in child and family counseling at Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at The College of William and Mary.

My Therapeutic Approach

A primary goal of my therapy is developing a warm and trusting relationship with each client, which ample research has demonstrated is key to effective psychotherapy.  I encourage each patient to provide feedback throughout the therapy so I can continue to tailor my approach to what works best for them as well as enhance my understanding of their common relationship patterns.  I prefer working from a psychodynamic framework wherein clients are free to discuss whatever is on their mind, as typically this leads us to the most central aspects of what is bothering them.  Often this leads to new understanding of connections between patients' early environments and what they are going through now, which both relieves distress and opens up new possibilities for making different choices in the present.  At times I find it useful to integrate Cognitive Behavioral strategies if there is a particular pattern the client would like to change.  For example, gradual exposure therapy tends to be effective in decreasing anxiety about specific situations and engaging in pleasurable activities tends to counteract depressive feelings.  I will work with you to identify helpful, realistic strategies to help you feel better when needed.

I collaborate with each patient to decide on the length, focus, and depth of the therapy.  I help clients to develop their goals for therapy and work with them on moving towards those goals.  Most of my patients choose to meet once weekly at least initially, though for some twice weekly sessions are helpful, particularly during difficult periods.  Towards the end of therapy, some patients find it useful to gradually increase the time between sessions so they feel confident about their readiness to end.  Some choose to come back as needed in the future, others feel ready to say goodbye.  Again, I will work with you in order to determine a course of treatment that is tailored to your needs.