About Therapy/Counseling
Therapy is a process of change. Clients and therapist work together to examine existing patterns, and set
goals for the changes clients desire. Sometimes clients choose to work on one or two very specific
behaviors that they would like to change, and after a few sessions feel satisfied with the progress they have
made. Other times, clients wish to work on deeper, long-standing issues from their past that are causing
current problems. This process will of course take more time.
In either situation, the therapist is there to act as a facilitator of the client's goals. Ideally, therapy proceeds at
a pace that feels comfortable, with the client setting that pace, and the therapist offering feedback as to
areas that might otherwise be unnoticed. The client should not feel overly pushed, or as though the therapist
has their own agenda. In other words, therapy is a mutual process, but the client is always in charge.
Therapy/Counseling carries many perceptions - some positive some negative. I believe that therapy is a
positive tool to support anyone during a challenging time in one’s life. Challenging does not always mean a
hard or painful time. You could be trying to decide if the partner in your life is the one you would like to spend
the rest of your life with or figuring out how to best support and understand yourself in your next phase of life.
These are what I call “Times of Change,” challenges that are moments in which one may need guidance
that a non-judgmental, open and outside your circle of friends and family that a professional can help you
with.
Then there are challenges that are of the painful sort. Such as loss, feelings of hopelessness, insecurity,
nervousness, worry, over stressed, feeling lost and having problems in your relationship with your family,
friends, loved ones that you feel troubled resolving and want guidance.
And then there are challenges that feel very hard to cope with. Clinical depression and/or server anxiety, -
do I have it? Do I need medication? Do I need a doctor or psychiatrist? Do you struggle coping in everyday
activities, fears of going outside, or being around people? Do you fear specific things or activities? Do you
have obsessions, delusions, compulsions? Not knowing what this means or how to cope and feeling
scared and alone, maybe fearful and anxious.
All of these challenges are times to come see a therapist. But you may be saying, I feel like people will think
I’m crazy if I come to seek help. I would ask, “what is crazy mean?”
According to the dictionary the definition is as follows: http://dictionary.reference.com:
 | mentally deranged; demented; insane. | |
| senseless; impractical; totally unsound:. | |
| intensely enthusiastic; passionately excited: | |
| very enamored or infatuated | |
| intensely anxious or eager; impatient: | |
| unusual; bizarre; singular: | |
| likely to break or fall to pieces. | |
| weak, infirm, or sickly. |
What I would say to the definition, is wow, I think we have all felt crazy at some point. So when we believe that
HAVE been seen as crazy.
Seeking help is what humans do. We look to others for guidance in many forms: by watching, asking,
modeling, being taught and through counseling. It is natural to seek help.
My belief is, seek help when you need it, before you are so stuck or hurt that it takes years to unravel. Brief or
short term therapy can help with getting through tough times. Long term therapy is when the tough times
have penetrated deeply and time and work is what is needed to heal.
Some people say that if I go to a therapist people will think or I think I’m weak and can’t figure it out on my
own.
Therapy is not a quick fix and therapists do not “fix you” or change you. What we do is team with you to help
you discover what is troubling you and what you can do about it. This is work on your part and hard work at
that. I seen not weakness in the people who have the courage and strength to the this work.
Some people have said that a therapist can get you to do things you don’t want to do, change you.
A therapist can not change you. You are the only one who can initiate and create change in your life. For
example, if a therapist told you that your husband was not a good person and you should leave him right now
but you really do not believe in divorce and came to me looking for a solution to help you stay married, well
then you certainly would not leave your husband. Change happens by discovering during our work together
that you see how, for example, some of your behaviors are causing distress in the marriage and you felt
through this discovery that you needed to change a few things – then I believe you would work to change
those behaviors. So all in all, you are the vehicle for change; you are in the drivers seat and I am there to
open you to the possibilities of the road ahead.
Therapy is a process that's a lot like education. Through therapy, people learn about themselves. They
discover ways to overcome difficulties, develop inner strengths or skills, or make changes in themselves or
their situations. Often, it feels good just to have a person to vent to, and other times it's useful to learn
different techniques to help deal with challenges.
It might take a few meetings with a therapist before people really feel like you can share deep personal
issues. It's natural to feel that way. Trust is an essential ingredient in therapy — after all, therapy involves
being open and honest about sensitive topics like feelings, ideas, relationships, problems, life choices,
disappointments, and hopes. A therapist understands that people sometimes take a while to feel
comfortable sharing personal information.
How is this done? We start with what brought you to therapy. With this goal in mind, I use a variety of
techniques. Some talking, some interacting, some experiencing, and some work you do at home. We work
together to discover what the root causes are to the symptoms that you are troubled with and explore change
that works for your life. Below are the theories I use to guide my work.
Family Systems Therapy (for individual, families, and couples)
Cognitive/Behaviors Therapy (generally for individuals)
Psychodynamic Therapy (for individual, families, and couples)
Humanistic Therapy (for individual, families, and couples)
About Therapy/Counseling
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