Counseling is an excellent avenue to work through life’s obstacles and burdens while providing you with the opportunity to learn about yourself and others as well as to gain and master new skills that will assist in meeting your life goals.
My perspective on therapy is that it can be seen as a luxury that we afford ourselves at various points in life. It is not often that we are afforded the opportunity to take an hour out of our week to reflect upon our lives and relationships or our most inner thoughts and feelings. In addition, the opportunity to share these sentiments within a trusted, safe, and non-judgmental relationship and with someone who has been specifically trained to address challenging mental, emotional, and relational issues could certainly be a luxury that many of us do not feel we would have access to anywhere else in our lives. Embracing this point of view will assist you in entering the counseling process with the feeling or sense that you are giving something to yourself, that you are inspired to give yourself the opportunity to get support, to learn, to heal, to grow, or whatever it is that you are wanting from this process. In doing so, we not only ensure that you are protected from the stigma of feeling that something is wrong with you or that you are somehow damaged, but also that therapy will not be another burden or item on your to do list and will be an experience that feels rejuvenating and uplifting.
In individual therapy we have three main tasks:
- To help make your day to day life more enjoyable and fulfilling
- To make sense of the events of the past and come to understand and approach them in a helpful way
- To craft a vision of the future that feels enriching and worthwhile and provides you with an approach for how you would like to live your life moving forward
Throughout the counseling process, we naturally weave in and out of the past, present and future as we gain awareness of their interconnection and learn to choose an empowered stance in approaching all three.
The therapeutic process can vary greatly depending on your needs and can range from a few focused sessions to deal with an immediate issue to longer term insight oriented therapeutic work. Sometimes we will tackle challenging emotional content while at other times we will laugh lightheartedly or enjoy a success together. We will balance free and open dialogue with more structured practice of skills as we help you to feel safe and comfortable while at the same time gently pushing you to grow. I have been fortunate that clients seem to feel comfortable and at ease with me and hope that will be the case for you as well. I welcome your questions and feedback and look forward to creating a therapeutic relationship that you feel good about as well as a therapeutic process that you find relevant, meaningful and worthwhile.