About me
Nicholas del pesco
Nicholas started his career in human services at Northeast Treatment Centers in Philadelphia, PA where, over the course of 7 years, he worked as Youth Advocate for adjudicated adolescents, lead clinician for a community-based treatment team and outpatient therapist. After becoming a licensed psychotherapist in 2014, Nicholas worked as an outpatient therapist for multiple companies in the Philadelphia area where he helped clients manage or overcome symptoms related to anxiety, stress, trauma, depression and more.
Nicholas’ therapeutic approach is strongly rooted in humanistic psychology. As described in an article from the Association for Humanistic Psychology, this approach offers a "crucial opportunity to lead our troubled culture back to its own healthy path. More than any other therapy, Humanistic-Existential therapy models democracy. It imposes ideologies of others upon the client less than other therapeutic practices. Freedom to choose is maximized. We validate our client's human potential." Nicholas’ approach is also influenced by Buddhist and evolutionary psychology, which give insight into why our minds can work against us and what to do about it.
Tools and Approaches
Mindfulness
When we are able to observe what is happening in our minds and bodies in the present moment and without judgement, we are mindful. The skill of mindfulness allows us to learn more about ourselves and to become more responsive rather than reactive to life's difficulties.
Self-compassion
Most of us are kinder to others than we are to ourselves. Through the practice of self-compassion, we can take power away from our inner-critic and give ourselves the compassion we need.
Mindfulness - Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
An 8-week intensive course that uses the insights of mindfulness and Cognitive Therapy to strengthen the client's ability to break out of the unhelpful thought patterns that trigger depressive episodes. This approach has been proven to reduce the frequency of future depressive episodes in clients struggling with major depressive disorder (MDD).
Exposure and Response Prevention (EXRP)
Target your fears and habituate to them through exposure and response prevention. By intentionally approaching that which is feared in a systematic and manageable way, clients can dramatically reduce the anxieties holding them back in life. This is an evidence-based approach for a range of anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
Working with Parts
Take a deep dive into your internal world by communicating directly with different parts of your psyche. This approach is based on the insight that the human mind is composed of sub-personalities who assume different roles and carry different burdens. This is an effective approach for many issues ranging from inner-conflicts to severe trauma.
Cognitive - Processing Therapy (CPT)
This approach asserts that natural recovery from trauma is compromised by the dysfunctional beliefs the client holds in the aftermath of the traumatic event. Through identifying and challenging the "stuck points" in one's thinking, the brain is able to process the event in a way that allows for healing.
