Isita Patel

As a strength-oriented, humanistic, and trauma-certified therapist, I strive to create a safe space to facilitate healing and empowerment. I work with adults and adolescents ages 14 & up and specialize in trauma & South Asian mental health. I am passionate about reducing the stigma that surrounds mental health in communities of color, healing traumas both personal and generational, and empowering individuals to live their authentic lives.

Having worked in community mental health as well as private practices and academic settings, I have gained valuable experience with a range of mental health struggles. I utilize a variety of theories and techniques, including but not limited to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, and Narrative Therapy. Through a culturally aware and informed lens, I tailor my approach to the individual and meet the client where they are.

As a first generation, South Asian-American woman, I understand (and engage with) both cultures and the struggles that come with trying to blend the two. I strive to create a safe and inviting environment in which clients feel comfortable and at ease to facilitate sharing. You are the expert on your life and your experiences. As someone who loves stories, I am here to listen to yours, help you gain a better understanding of yourself, and rewrite internalized narratives so you can feel more confident in your decisions and in life.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive behavioral therapy is an evidence-based therapeutic approach that is effective in treating a wide range of mental health struggles. Through research and clinical practice, it has been demonstrated that CBT has led to significant improvements in functionality and quality of life.

The core beliefs in CBT are that:

  • Thoughts, feelings, and actions are interconnected

  • Psychological problems are partly caused by unhelpful thinking and partly by learned patterns of unhelpful behavior

  • Learning positive coping strategies to make changes in thinking/behaviors can lead to symptom reduction and overall improvement

CBT focuses more on what is happening now rather than what has occurred in the past and teaches strategies to be used outside of session, putting the client in control of their healing.

Narrative Therapy

Narrative therapy helps you become, accept, and embrace being the expert of your own life. The focus is on sharing your stories and how your experiences have impacted you. Experience shapes us and influences how we see ourselves and the world. Narrative therapy techniques include:

  • Constructing the narrative

  • Deconstructing the narrative

  • Externalization

  • Perspective taking

Through this approach, you can find alternative stories, challenge internalized messages, widen your view of yourself, and find new ways of living your best life. Sharing your stories helps to empower you and remind you that you are in control of your story.

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy

DBT is a type of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that brings together the opposing concepts of acceptance and change. This approach aims to improve functionality and quality of life in 4 ways.

  • Distress Tolerance - Feeling intense emotions without acting impulsively or using negative coping skills to reduce distress

  • Emotional Regulation - Recognizing, naming, and managing emotions

  • Mindfulness - Learning to maintain awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and the surrounding environment with self-compassion

  • Interpersonal Effectiveness - Navigating conflict and learning assertiveness