Philosophy
As human beings, we rely on emotions to navigate both our external environment and our internal experiences. Emotions provide important information about our wants, needs, values, identities, and relationships. At times, distress can emerge when these experiences are difficult to understand, when our needs or values come into conflict, or when the ways we have learned to navigate ourselves and our relationships no longer serve us.
Therapy offers an opportunity to develop greater self-awareness and relational awareness, deepen our understanding of what we feel and need, and examine the expectations and patterns shaping our lives. From there, we can make more intentional choices about how we want to relate to ourselves, to others, and to the lives we are creating.
Theoretical Orientation
Every therapist has a theoretical orientation—a guiding philosophy that informs how they understand psychological distress and facilitate change. My approach is integrative and pan-theoretical, meaning I draw from multiple evidence-informed therapies rather than relying on a single model. This allows me to tailor treatment to each individual, couple, or relationship based on their unique experiences, identities, values, goals, and presenting concerns.
My work is informed by formal advanced training in Internal Family Systems (IFS), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP), the Gottman Method, and Somatic Attachment Therapy, while also incorporating cognitive-behavioral, relational, mindfulness, and humanistic perspectives when appropriate. Rather than fitting clients into a predetermined therapeutic model, I draw upon approaches that best support meaningful and lasting change.
The Relational Integrity-Fragility Spectrum, the non-prescriptive and adaptive framework at the heart of my book, Consenting Adults, also informs my therapeutic work. I encourage clients to cultivate integrity within themselves through agency, authenticity, and self-knowledge, while fostering Relational Integrity in their relationships through transparency, humility, and accountability. This includes examining inherited expectations about what relationships are “supposed” to look like and supporting clients in making intentional choices about the relationships and lives they want to create.
“I have had the pleasure of working with Dr. Gadomski for several years at Stanford, and I find her clinical work to be of the highest quality. She shows incredible compassion, insight, and diligence in her work with clients. I would have no hesitation referring any of my own clients to her practice.”
- Inge Hansen
Psychologist, Former Colleague at Stanford University