Services
Whether you’re seeking therapy, referring a client, or gathering information, Josh Curie & Associates Therapy is ready to help.
LGBTQIA Competent Therapy
We know that queer folks have unique experiences and minority stress and so all of our providers are queer or queer competent in practice, affirming folks of all sexualities, including asexuality, and all genders, including those who identify as agender or nonbinary. We are experienced in many different domains surrounding sexuality and gender, including coming out, transitioning, religious trauma, dating, sex (including kinks and fetishes), ethical nonmonogamy, sexual health, desire, etc.
ADHD/Neurodivergence
We work with a large number of clients who identify as neurodivergent, often not being diagnosed until adulthood. While we do not prescribe medication nor test for ADHD/ADD (this requires a psychologist or a doctor to complete which we can refer you to), we are able to have helpful conversations and help equip you with tools to understand your neurodivergence, how it impacts you and what you may need to show up better in the workplace or in relationships. We have assisted clients in having conversations with employers and university staff about reasonable accommodations, have assisted clients in understanding how and why they mask and unmask, and help client think about and prepare for things related to time management, socialization, dating, clear and concise communication, etc.
Substance Abuse
Unlike in the past where substance use and mental health concerns were primarily treated separately, current research suggests that the best practice is to treat both simultaneously. We serve a large number of clients who have co-occurring disorders (mental health and substance use disorders) and we look at the whole person by starting with several assessment tools, including an in-depth biopsychosocial assessment to understand how many domains of one’s life may be impacting others. We operate from a harm reduction frame work, recognizing that abstinence is not always the goal for everyone. We encourage the exploration of meetings (including AA, NA, Dharma Recovery, CMA, etc) but also recognize that there are many pathways to recovery and do not have a one size fits all approach. Not only do we aim to reduce harm by decreasing frequency and/or quantity of use, we seek to understand and work on the underlying issues that may be contributing to the use. Additionally, we are able to meet with clients who have lost their licensed due to substance use and complete the substance abuse assessment component of the driver’s license reinstatement process.
OCD/Anxiety
We understand how OCD and anxiety can sometimes be overwhelming and even debilitating. The goal is never to completely remove anxiety or preoccupation—they are helpful in certain extreme situations that require a fight or flight response or laser focus. However, when we stay in this state for extended periods of time, mentally it becomes overwhelming and physiologically our bodies are having to work a lot more, and we feel it in undesirable ways. Through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) we work to understand the thoughts, meanings and behaviors that are behind the anxiety or OCD and work to challenge and develop new ways of processing and thinking about experiences via the process known as cognitive restructuring. Coupled with Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) techniques, we can work on gradual exposure to the stimulus or situation that tends to cause the reaction or spiral and work on building tolerance for uncomfortable feelings. Additionally, we work on rational versus irrational thinking via reality testing by identifying what the fear or concern was and what actually happened in real life (since we often fear things that do not materialize).
Couple’s Therapy
What do you think the number one challenge we see couples facing today? If you guessed “communication,” you are correct. It feels like something that is simple but effective communication requires a lot of different skills sets we do not automatically know or have learned, including, active listening, reflective questioning, negotiation, compromise, consistency, and being unafraid of healthy conflict.
We see all types of different couples from newly engaged or dating couples, to couples that have been married over 30 years and perhaps just need a tune up or to work through a particular issue. We do not assume any particular relationship orientation and work with many monogamous and non-monogamous or poly relationship dynamics. Many themes that we see in couple’s therapy at present include: infidelity, navigating poly or nonmonogamy boundaries, communication 101, stressors related to finance, substance abuse, differing parenting styles, and exploring the break up of the relationship. We draw our framework for couple’s therapy from an eclectic group of scholars and methods, including the Gottman Method, Relationship Anarchy, Esther Perel, Jessica Fern and Tristan Taormino.
Children & Adolescent Therapy
We see clients from the ages of 6+ and initially spend a lot of time rapport building and finding commonality. For younger folks, much of the work centers around play therapy (playing cards, drawing pictures, building things, etc) while helping them identify and label their emotions and being able to talk about them. Occasionally we may bring in a parent for a shared family session or to provide a bit of feedback but most of the session will be 1:1 with the child and the therapist. With teens, we still work on emotions and feeling identification but add in additional topics of exploration including sexuality, peer pressure, navigating parent-child relationships, crushes, bullying, substance abuse, etc. We are well versed in Attachment Theory, which examines what contributes to or inhibits secure and stable attachment between children and their primary caretakers.
Common themes that we see emerging in children and adolescents pertain to: adoption, anxiety, adjustment challenges (moving to a new school for example), emotion regulation challenges, defiance or difficulties following rules or expectations, attention challenges, navigating crushes or emerging sexuality, concerns about transition into adulthood, etc.
