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WHAT TO EXPECT

WHAT IS THERAPY LIKE?

Because each person, couple or family has different issues and goals for therapy, therapy will be differnt for everyone.  However, you can expect to address the current situation in your life that has brought you in, share your personal history relevant to your concerns and discuss progress/new insights gained from therapy.  Therapy can be short-term, if addressing a current problem, or longer-term, to deal with more difficult patterns or you desire for more personal development.  Either way, it is most common to schedule regular sessions with your therapist (usually weekly).

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Therapy is a cooperative effort between the client and the therapist. Therapy has been proven to have significant benefits for people who are willing to be an active participant in the process of change. Being an active participant may mean that you engage in problem-solving, explore new ideas and feelings, and practice new skills.  The ultimate purpose of therapy is to help you bring what you learn in session back into your life.  Therefore, beyond the work you do in therapy sessions, your therapist may suggest some things you can do outside of therapy to support your process   

 

WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE BENEFITS OF THERAPY?

  • Attaining a better understanding of yourself, your goals and values

  • Developing skills for improving your relationships

  • Finding resolution to the issues or concerns that led you to seek therapy

  • Learning new ways to cope with stress and anxiety

  • Managing anger, grief, depression, and other emotional pressures

  • Improving communications and listening skills

  • Changing old behavior patterns and developing new ones

  • Discovering new ways to solve problems in your family or marriage

  • Improving your self-esteem and boosting self-confidence

WHAT ARE SOLUTION-FOCUSED & STRENGTH-BASED APPROACHES?

When using a solution-focused approach to therapy, I work to help people explore the steps they want to take to improve their current situation. It is based on the client's self-determined goals and objectives for therapy.  I also implement a strength-based approach in which I help individuals, couples and families build on their strengths to assist them in achieving the outcomes they want from therapy.

WHAT IS COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL & INTERPERSONAL THERAPIES?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps with examining automatic thoughts that may negatively affect a person's mood or functioning and then alter those thoughts to more clearly view challenging situations and respond to them in more effective ways. CBT also helps with systematically changing behaviors that may also negatively affect a person's mood and functioning.

Interpersonal Therapy is used in couples and family counseling to explore behavioral patterns that people can find themselves stuck in and work to change those behaviors to more positive and enriching interactions. This type of therapy also helps couples and families learn new skills or improve on their communications and conflict resolutions skills as well as find new or get back to spending enjoyable time together connecting.  

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