Dr. Tassava is a licensed clinical psychologist. She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Illinois-Chicago, and her B.A. in both Psychology and English at Macalester College in St. Paul. Dr. Tassava has many years of experience as a psychotherapist, wellness coach, and self-help author, and has worked in a variety of settings including large urban medical centers, school districts, nonprofit community health care, and private practice.
During her career, Dr. Tassava has worked with clients from school-age to senior citizens. She currently specializes in working with clients from college-age through all stages of adulthood and has specialty training and expertise in women’s health. Dr. Tassava utilizes a flexible therapy approach that combines empathy and warmth with cognitive-behavioral and solution-focused strategies to help individuals work through difficulties and feel more empowered, resilient, joyful, and fulfilled in their daily lives. In her work as a therapist, she values her clients’ own goals and desires for counseling, while bringing her professional expertise, ideas, and strategies to the table.
Dr. Tassava uses the following evidence-based approaches to therapy:
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Solution-Focused Therapy (SFT)
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
- Mindfulness
- Motivational Interviewing
- Cognitive Behavioral Interventions for Tics (CBIT)
- Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
Dr. Tassava specializes in treating the following:
- Depression
- Premenstrual dysphoric disorder
- Postpartum depression
- Anxiety
- Stress
- Adjustment difficulties
- Life transitions (i.e., college, young adulthood, motherhood, divorce, menopause)
- Health behaviors (i.e., exercise, eating habits, chronic illness, chronic pain)
- Parenting concerns
- Body image struggles
- Disordered eating and weight concerns
- General wellness and self-care
Ages Dr. Tassava treats:
- Young adult (18 – 25 years old)
- Adult (26+ years old)