Trina Bolfing, MA, LMFT Associate | Supervised by Michelle Silva Segura, LMFT-S, LPC-S, SEP
Trina Bolfing
Relational & Mental Health

My Approach
My relationship with each client is the number one factor informing my style as a therapist. That means my approach is different with each of them because every client is unique. So the word “relational” is a great starting point to describe who I am as a therapist.
Areas of Focus
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Relational concerns for individuals
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Relational concerns for co-parents, families, and couples
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Emotion regulation
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Trauma history including developmental, acute, complex, intergenerational, systemic, religious, etc.
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Family of origin issues
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Spirituality and meaning-making—all spirituality and faith traditions welcome!
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Identity issues and development including BIPOC, Queer/LGBTQ+, immigrant, women, and other marginalized identities
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Men's issues
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Mind/body/spirit connection
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Sexuality
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Life transitions, adjusting to change, every day stress
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Symptom management including depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation
I take my clients’ lead in what topics we cover and what work we need to do together. Sometimes we dive into the past and hang out there for a while. We often delve into culture, identity, and values. At times we stay in the here-and-now, focusing on how the therapy relationship can be a vehicle for healing. Other times we sit and feel feelings or concentrate on how the body holds those difficult feelings. I trust my clients’ intuition and their ability to grow. It’s a collaborative, strengths-based journey where each of us brings our own gifts to the relationship.
I use a trauma-informed, feminist, systemic, and postmodern lens to understand my clients’ stories. Those terms may mean lots of different things to different people. For me it means past struggle, systems of oppression, culture, and family/community powerfully impact identity. And the manner in which we share our own story is incredibly meaningful.
If my approach resonates with you, I would love to hear from you.
"Therapy is invariably energized when it focuses on the relationship between therapist and patient."
-Irvin D. Yalom,
The Gift of Therapy
Modalities
Relational Cultural Theory
Collaborative Language Systems
Narrative & Solution Focused Therapy
General Systems & Cybernetic Theory
Structural Family Therapy
Imago Therapy
Attachment Theory
Gestalt & Experiential Therapy
Not sure what I'm talking about? That's ok! If you're interested to learn more about what it means that I use different theories and modalities with my clients, let's talk about it.
Image credit: "Texas Bluebonnets" by jonclegg is licensed under CC BY 2.0.