April Westfall, PhD

April Westfall, PhD, (she/her/hers) is a licensed psychologist in PA and maintains and active and full clinical practice of adult individuals and couples at both our University City and Wynnewood Offices. Clinical specialty areas include: anxiety and depression, including bi-polar disorder; trauma, including its resolution through the use of EMDR; chronic illness; grief/loss; gay/lesbian and bisexual couples; separation/divorce; intercultural couples (of different race, nationality, or religion) and military families. Dr. Westfall has a long history of working with individuals and couples struggling to heal after sexual infidelity/affairs, and has taught and written extensively, both for the professional and lay audience (see her blog entries) on this topic.

As a therapist, April operates with an open, engaged, collaborative style with her clients. With many years of professional practice, teaching, and scholarship in the field, she has been schooled in a variety of theoretical approaches, but is especially drawn to the existential/phenomenological, emotion-focused, and narrative approaches. In particular, she values the work with those in the midst of life transitions – both the normative, developmental ones and those often unforeseen occurrences (through divorce, death, or geographic relocation, among them) – that challenge us to approach life with more courage, flexibility and thoughtfulness than before.

When treating couples, she initially works to help them to move from a place of defensiveness, emotional distance, or destructive escalation of conflict to one that permits more authentic expression of other, heretofore unrecognized, emotions. When couples enter therapy in the midst of crisis, emotional intensity and volatility can be even more intense and must be carefully managed. With the reduction of their unproductive exchanges, she hopes to bring the couple to a place where they begin to enjoy more positive interactions and mutual appreciation for one another once again, or perhaps, for the first time.

Fee: $$$$

Dr. Westfall encourages people considering therapy to reach out to discuss fees if there are any questions about this range. More information about fees can be found here.