Therapy is a place to tell your personal story to find understanding, meaning, and direction. My job is to help you come to better understand yourself in order to make changes in the areas in your life that are causing you discomfort. You will learn what your key issues are and how to resolve them. Together, we will work helping you gain the skills and confidence to work them out on your own.
Initial Meeting
At the end of our first session, I will give you feedback about the issues and patterns that I see impacting your life and how we can work on them together. I will make recommendations and ask that you think about whether therapy with me is right for you. I will ask that you take time to reflect on your decision, since it is crucial that you feel comfortable working with me.
Emotional Safety
I will do my best to make our relationship a protected and gentle space for you. Therapy only works when you trust your therapist and feel safe in the relationship. Although it is normal for this trust to take time to develop, you should feel a “goodness of fit” early on. It is important for you to tell me if something is not comfortable for you. The more honest you are with me about your past and present thoughts, feelings, and relationships, the more quickly you will move forward in therapy.
Therapy is a healing process that asks that you to both look at yourself (gain insight) and then take the risk to act differently (behavior change). It can be challenging sometimes, but I will stand beside you to support you.I will help you to make the changes that you decide are important to you. The purpose of therapy is for me to help you to find your own answers, not for me to give you mine. The more invested you are in doing the work, the faster change will happen for you and the better you will feel.
If I am unable to help you, or if I feel you would be better served by someone or something different, I will refer you to someone whom I think can better support you.
How Long Does Therapy Last?
Therapy is not something you do until all your problems are solved. When you have experienced relief from the difficulties that brought you to therapy in the first place and you have learned some new skills to work out the problem areas in your life on your own, then you are ready to move on.
Post Therapy
Many people wonder if terminating from therapy means that they can never come back again. Not true. Sometimes we just need an “emotional tune up.” I am always available for follow-up support, even for one session. The key to staying emotionally balanced is knowing when to ask for help and not letting ourselves become isolated from our sources of support.
Questions or Concerns
If you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to discuss them with me at any time.
